Oxygen
by TStabler
Summary: Everyone needs air to breathe, even candles die without oxygen to feed the flame. When the BAU is called to New York to solve a tough case, the newest member of their team realizes how close she has been to suffocating. Who will save her? E/O M/G Others
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Branching out to a different fandom, of course keeping my old one in perfect condition ;) It has also come to my attention that someone has been leaving hurtful reviews using my name. If I EVER read a story, I will NOT leave awful reviews, and I will ALWAYS sign in or let you know somehow that it's me. Please, ignore any flames you were left by someone using my name as it WAS NOT ME!**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. TStabler© owns the narrative, dialogue and plot of this story.**

_Jiddu Krishnamurti once said, __** "**__When you love, you are very near truth__**. **__For, love makes for sensitivity, for vulnerability. That which is sensitive is capable of renewal. Then truth will come into being. It cannot come if your mind and heart are burdened, heavy with ignorance and animosity." I doubt he knew how very true his words were._

Her thoughts were interrupted as she tried to listen to her boss, his words hitting her ears like nails on a chalkboard. She shook her head as she sipped her coffee, trying to keep her thoughts from drifting back to the life she'd left behind.

"He'd be between eighteen and twenty-five, based on the extreme sexual nature of the crimes. Maybe his inadequacy with women is triggering violence." Aaron Hotchner looked up from the file in his hands, meeting the eyes of everyone on his team. All eyes, he noticed, except hers. "Am I boring you, Benson?"

Olivia Benson, the newest member of the BAU and a transplant from the NYPD, shook her head without looking at him as she dropped her coffee mug to the desk. "I just think...he might be older. Eighteen...there's an awful lot of anger here for someone that young and if sex was the stressor, wouldn't it be more probable that it's an older man?" She shrugged and lifted her coffee up again, staring down at it. "Maybe someone who's not getting any from his wife? Maybe a guy who can't get it up anymore...it gets to that point and that's when the rage hits..."

"She's right," Spencer Reid, resident genius, interrupted. "We might have the profile a little skewed because of the ages of the victims. What if he's simply targeting younger women because he knows he'll never really be able to have a woman like that again?"

"So you two think this is some sort of extreme mid-life crisis?" Derek Morgan asked, tossing a rubber ball into the air with a chuckle. "What happened to buying a Porsche?"

Hotchner, teetering on the edge of agreeing with Reid and Benson, shut the file and tossed it onto his desk. "Get Garcia on the phone," he said. "Tell her to narrow down the search to men between the ages of...thirty and forty-five...who are either recently divorced, separated, or..." he paused to look at Olivia, who was still staring into her coffee, "Seeking treatment for any type of ED." He kept his eyes on Olivia as he said, "JJ, get the plane ready."

A pretty blonde walked out of the room as Morgan dropped the ball to his desk. He shifted in his seat, then dialed a number on his phone and pushed the speaker button. He smirked when he heard Penelope Garcia speak.

"The Oracle is in, and ready to serve you," the spunky computer whiz said, the hint of need in her voice directed at Morgan.

"Hey, doll face," Morgan said with a chuckle. "We got a little goose-hunt for ya."

Garcia laughed. "My gun is loaded and aimed, just tell me where to shoot."

"New York Metro area, men between thirty and forty-five who are recently divorced, separated, or widowers." Morgan leaned back as he heard the clicking of Garcia's keys. "You're an angel, ya know that?" he said, closing his eyes.

Reid scoffed and squinted a bit. "Just ask her out already," he joked.

Garcia hummed, ignoring Reid's comment, thankful they couldn't see her blushing through the phone. "Okay, weaving my way through court records. Divorce is a pretty common practice in New York, it seems." There was more clicking. "Divorces and separations, coming at ya. It's a pretty long list, being sent to all of your phones...now."

Simultaneous bleeps and chirps rang through the office, and everyone grabbed their cell phones to scroll through the list. "Cross reference," Hotchner said to them. "Look for any names that have already come up in this investigation. We'll start there."

Garcia cleared her throat. "Oh, my lovelies, I'm one step ahead of you. Gimmie ten minutes and you'll have the men from that list who have been prescribed, have bought, looked at, or even sniffed a bottle of Viagra in the last six months."

"Take your time, sweetness," Morgan said, reading through the long list of names on his cell's screen.

But Olivia had stopped scrolling, her eyes focused on one name that hit her almost immediately. Her coffee fell out of her shaking hands, luckily landing in the trash bin to her left.

"Hey," Reid said, reaching for her shoulder. "You okay?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah," she assured him, nodding. She stood up off the edge of the desk, and she made eye contact with Hotchner for the first time all day. "I just need to make a phone call."

Hotchner nodded at her, watching intently as she left the room fast. He cleared his throat and said, "Hey, Garcia, that list get any smaller?"

"A ton! Newly revised and edited list of lonely, horny men," Garcia laughed, "Hitting your phones right now."

Reid, knowing something was wrong with Olivia, looked around before rising from his seat to follow after her. He stayed out of sight, only listening to the bits of the phone call he could hear. It was obvious he'd missed a good chunk of it, and Olivia was knee-deep in conversation with someone.

"When did this happen?" Olivia asked, one hand over her pounding heart. "It wasn't...I meant you didn't...because of me...did you?" She stopped, listening to the voice on the other end. "I don't know if I would have, but If I had known...you should have called. I would have come back," she said, her eyes closing. "I know...I'll be in the city tonight. We got a case that...oh, right," she laughed. "You're the ones that called us," she bit her lip and rolled her eyes. "I guess...I guess I'll see you soon, then. JFK at ten if you want to...I dunno, meet me there or..." She paused to hear the man say something, it made her smile and she almost let herself giggle. "Me either. Bye, El."

"That sounded friendly," Reid said, folding his arms.

Olivia jumped and turned, then put her phone in her pocket. "Yeah, it was a friend so...it was friendly."

Reid tilted his head and took another step toward her. "Just a friend?" he questioned. "Because your voice got a bit higher, louder than usual. You stuttered, like you were nervous, and you kept biting your lip and twirling your hair. All things a woman does when she's flirting."

"You think I was flirting...with my phone?" Olivia asked, her eyes narrow.

Reid let his arms fall and he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I think you were flirting with the man on the other end of it," he said with a short nod. "You smiled, and you took a deep breath before you hung up, like you were trying not to laugh. That says something."

"I thought you weren't supposed to profile people on your own team," she returned, a slight attitude in her voice now.

"Just observations," Reid said, shaking his head. "I don't think I've ever seen you like that before. Whoever that was...he must make you happy."

"He used to," Olivia said, looking down.

"And you want him to again," Reid said. "Just another observation."

Footsteps grew louder and closer and they heard Morgan's voice. "All right. you two, to the hangar!"

"Garcia narrow down that list?" Olivia asked, falling into step at Hotchner's side, following the group toward the plane.

Hotchner nodded. "Down to thirty," he said. "You make that call?"

"Yeah," she said, clearing her throat. She shot Reid a look, and he smiled at her. She knew he wouldn't say anything to anyone about what he'd heard, or seen.

The team loaded into the small private plane, sitting in cushioned seats and strapping in. Olivia opted for a seat near a window in the back corner. Hotchner watched her sit, knowing she was purposely alienating herself from the team. He sighed as he sat across from her and flipped open a file. He waited for her to look at him, and when she didn't he shook his head and started reading.

"What's going on over there?" Agent Rossi, the director, aimed his question toward Morgan.

The suave agent leaned back in his couch-like seat and kicked his feet up on the table. "You know Hotch," he said. "Always going after the forbidden fruit."

Rossi shook his head and knocked Morgan's feet off of the table. "I meant with her."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "She's been acting weird since she found out we were heading to New York. Distant, quiet."

"Did anyone ask her what the problem was?" Rossi turned, looking at JJ, the blonde case manager, and a tall brunette agent sitting beside her.

Both women shook their heads and turned slightly pink.

Rossi scoffed. "And you wonder why she doesn't trust anyone here, yet." He got up and walked toward the back of the plane, and he sat next to Olivia, ignoring the questioning look Hotchner was now giving him. He leaned into Olivia and said, softly, "A wise man once said, 'You can't go home again."

"Thomas Wolfe," she returned, turning her head. "What the hell did he know?" She laughed and uncrossed her arms.

Rossi smiled at her, thrilled to get a reaction from her. "You gonna be okay? Seeing your old..."

"I'll be fine," she interrupted. She eyed Reid who was sitting across the aisle, and she looked back at Rossi when he nodded at her. "Really, I'm just...not ready for all the questions."

Rossi sat back and finally looked at Hotchner, who was all but glaring at the older agent. "You're there on business," he told her, "You don't have to answer anything personal. If you'd rather, I could always make sure you're never alone with..."

"I think I can keep her busy," Hotchner cut in. "She's a field agent, so she'll be...in the field."

Olivia looked awkwardly from Rossi to Hotchner, a warning in her eyes. "I'll be fine, thanks. I'll just...deal with it when we land." She cleared her throat and looked back out the window. "Someone's meeting us at the airport. He can fill us in on the case, and I'll ride back to the police station with him, if..."

"Who?" Hotchner asked, suddenly sitting up straighter.

Just thinking about him made her smile. Her eyes sparkled as his face crossed her mind and she let her voice do whatever it was that Reid said it did when she talked to or about him. "My partner."

"Your ex-partner," Hotchner corrected, looking down into his file with a huff. "Wonderful."

Rossi furrowed his brow as he observed Hotchner's behavior, and he gave Olivia a small smile and a quick nod as he got out of his seat. He moved the few feet toward Reid and sat across from him and said, "This is gonna be interesting."

"That," Reid said with a sigh, "Is an understatement."

**A/N: Chapter Two? Maybe?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: When the plane lands, something else takes flight. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and all related characters. TStabler owns the following story.**

Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau was the first off the plane, eager to meet the member of the NYPD that had called her for help. She was the BAU's law enforcement liaison, and she took the title seriously, always needing to be the first one to speak to the police officers that surrendered their cases to her team.

"That's him," Olivia said, standing behind JJ. "That's Elliot Stabler." She felt her heart thump as she realized just how different things were now, and she couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not.

JJ blinked once as she took in the sight of the rugged man in the expensive-looking suit, and her blue eyes sparkled when he smiled at her. She grinned back, then smoothed her blonde hair behind her ears and took a few steps, holding out her hand, but the man, it seemed, was not looking at her at all.

Olivia ran by JJ, her sights set, and engulfed Elliot in a tight hug, much to the dismay of the team walking slowly behind her. "Hey, El," she said softly, her voice hitting his ear as her head rested on his shoulder.

He hugged her tighter and chuckled. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Benson," he said to her, his voice matching hers in tone and volume. He pulled away from her and looked at the group of people now staring at him. He cleared his throat, his smile faded, and he extended a hand, acknowledging JJ first. "You must be Agent Jareau."

JJ tried to hide her slight embarrassment and hint of jealousy as she shook his hand. "I am," she said with a nod. "How did you…"

"Liv," he interrupted. "She told me about you. All of you actually."

Hotchner's head tilted, then, and he folded his arms. "Really?" He looked toward Olivia. "What exactly did she tell you?"

Elliot laughed as he turned to look at Olivia again. "Just little things," he said with a shrug. "Nothing personal or embarrassing," he qualified.

"Nothing personal," Hotchner said, crossing his arms. "You sure about that?"

"El, this is Aaron Hotchner," Olivia said before Elliot could answer, doling out an introduction as she shifted her weight, rocking on her heels.

"Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit," Hotchner clarified, firmly shaking Elliot's hand, hoping to appear intimidating.

Elliot shook his hand, his lips tightening into a firm smirk. "Right," he said, pulling his hand back. "And which one of you is Doctor Spencer Reid?"

"That's me," Reid said, holding out his hand. He shook Elliot's firmly and eagerly.

"It's an honor, man," Elliot said, smiling at the young agent. "Liv really talked you up, so I'm expecting to be impressed."

Reid smiled then looked at Olivia, who winked at him. "I'm just your average bookworm," he said, almost blushing. "Though I do have the highest IQ on record in the FBI, youngest person to achieve three doctorates in less than four years, and of course the chess cham…"

"Reid," Rossi interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "I think he knows."

Reid nodded and dropped his hand, then shot a look toward Hotchner. He briefly wondered what, if anything, Olivia had told Elliot about him, but he let the thought slip away as he heard Elliot start to speak.

"Thanks for coming out here so fast," Elliot said, turning, leading the group down the hangar and out into the lot. "Usually we can get a handle on this kind of thing, but this guy…he's slick, and it's out of our…"

"Forgive me," Hotchner interjected, "Not that I don't thank you for meeting us out here with escorts, but usually a higher authority is the first to…"

"Oh," Elliot said, his head jerking slightly. He looked at Olivia for a moment, then dragged his eyes back to Hotchner. "I am."

Olivia's eyes lit up and her face beamed as she looked at him. "What?"

Elliot smirked at her. "I wanted to wait until you got here to tell you. You know Cragen retired, you came to his party. Well, Munch filled in, but when they handed down the position permanently, it went to…"

"You?" Olivia chuckled. She moved toward him, instincts telling her to hug him again, but she stopped. She cleared her throat and slapped him on the shoulder. "That's amazing. Congratulations."

Hotchner's brown eyes narrowed and he raised his voice. "Can we please just get down to the station? The faster we see the files and crime scene photos, the sooner we can work on this and give our profile, and then we can all…"

"Go home?" Morgan finished, his eyes on Hotchner. "We just got here, Hotch. It's almost midnight and I'm starving, can we at least…"

"I got sandwiches waiting for you in the conference room," Elliot said, cutting him off. "I thought you'd all be hungry." He looked at Olivia. "I knew you would be," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and headed for the black SUV behind where Elliot was standing. "Yeah," she said.

Hotchner turned to look at his team. "I'll ride with Benson," he said. "I need to get the facts from…Captain Stabler."

Rossi folded his arms. "Reid," he said, "Go with Agent Hotchner, please?"

Reid nodded and ran, following after Hotchner who was taking heavy steps behind Elliot and Olivia. He looked over his shoulder and watched Rossi and Morgan get into a police cruiser, while JJ and Prentiss took the backseat of a maroon sedan. He wondered for a moment what the drivers looked like, since neither had gotten out of the car.

"How long was your flight?" Elliot asked, snapping his seatbelt and turning the key, starting the car.

"Forty minutes," Olivia and Hotchner answered at the same time. Olivia turned to look at him from the front seat and smiled, then swiveled her head back to face Elliot.

Elliot shook his head, not amused, and then as he peeled out of the parking lot he asked, "You like Virginia?" He directed his question at Olivia, but his tone was not friendly. "Do you miss New York? At all?" He finally looked at her. "You miss me?"

Olivia's eyes turned, looking from him to the windshield. "Of course I miss you," she whispered. "The academy is on a Marine base, so every day, I…I can't stop thinking about you."

"How many victims are we dealing with?" Hotchner asked, stopping the front-seat conversation. He looked down, his fingers tapping rapidly at his cell phone, a long e-mail being written.

Elliot looked at him in the rearview mirror. "Four so far," he said. "But they match the MO of three in Jersey. That's why we called you."

Reid's eyebrows knitted together. "That's a pretty large location gap," he said. "We might be looking for someone who moved from Jersey to New York during the expanse of time between the last Jersey victim and the first one in New York, or someone who spent a good deal of time there for work, school maybe."

"Or a commuter," Olivia said. "It's only a fifteen minute drive, without traffic. He could have taken the tunnels or bridges, Spence."

"That's true," Reid said, pointing at her.

Elliot smirked at Olivia. "Spence?" he questioned. "How close are you two again?"

Olivia shrugged, but her lips curled into a grin. "You have nothing to worry about, El." She patted his knee and was pushed backward as Elliot suddenly hit the gas. She took her hand back and laughed, more at the situation than at Elliot.

Hotchner made an odd noise as he kept typing on his phone. "Get Garcia on the phone," he told Reid. "Ask her to run our list against housing records. Find out if any of them lived in Jersey for any length of time."

"On it," Reid said, dialing his phone. He glanced at Olivia, seeing only the back of her head and her left hand. He watched her for a moment, noticing her fingers twitching, her wrist moving. He pursed his lips and looked a few inches to her left, and then he smiled.

He noticed Elliot's right hand resting on the gear shift, and he assumed that Olivia was doing her best to keep herself from reaching for it. He was snapped out of his habitual analysis when Garcia picked up the phone, and he relayed Hotchner's request to her.

"How long have you been in law enforcement…Captain?" Hotchner asked, his eyes still narrow. His square jaw tightened and his neck twitched as he looked up at the driver.

"Oh, man," Elliot sighed, turning the wheel. "Almost twenty years, if you count from the day I graduated the academy." He laughed, not believing it himself, and he shook his head. "Been with Manhattan Special Victims for sixteen. Give or take a few months."

"So you were there for three years before Olivia became your partner?" Hotchner questioned. "And you're still there now. Getting along well without her?"

"I had two partners before Liv joined the unit, yeah," Elliot said, his voice now gravelly, almost annoyed. "I, uh, I left for a while, beginning of last year, left her alone and hated myself for it. I came back, though, back to her. Uh…when she left, getting even, I guess, I worked solo until I got my promotion." He coughed and turned the steering wheel again, heading down the street on which the station sat.

"So then the answer to my question is 'no," Hotchner chided, his thin lips curving slightly. "I don't blame you. She hasn't been with us long, but I can tell you, it wouldn't be the same without her."

Reid snapped his phone shut, purposely stopping the conversation which he knew was also making Olivia uncomfortable. "Garcia said there are a few people who used to live in Jersey, she's emailing all of us."

"Great," Olivia sighed, tapping her fingers on the door. As soon as Elliot pulled into the parking space, she opened the door and got out of the car, not waiting for him to turn it off.

Hotchner bolted out after her, but Elliot just shook his head. "Is he always like that?" he asked, turning to look at Reid.

Reid smiled at Elliot. "Lately," he said. "Yeah." He got out of the car, then, too, and met his team in the center of the lot. He noticed they were all staring at the brick building before them.

JJ turned to look at Elliot, who was trailing slowly behind them. "Nice digs," she said, smiling at him.

"Yeah," he returned, nodding curtly. "This is Detective John Munch," he said, pointing to a much older man in a similar suit. "And Detective Odafin Tutuola."

"Call me Fin," he said, shaking the hands of the people he hadn't been in the car with. "You guys got lucky with Benson. She givin' you any trouble?"

Rossi laughed. "No trouble at all," he said. "She's making things a lot easier actually."

"Speak for yourself," Hotchner mumbled, taking hard steps up to the front door.

Ignoring the obvious tantrum his boss had just thrown, Morgan slapped a hand on Elliot's shoulder. "Where are those sandwiches, man?"

Elliot chuckled and led the rest of the visitors into the station, toward the elevator, wondering to himself how and when he was going to get a moment alone with Olivia.

Once inside the squad room of the Special Victims Unit, Elliot waved them all into the conference room. "Help yourselves to whatever you want," he said, gesturing to the platters of food and soda cans littering a table at the front of the room. He grabbed a stack of black folders and tossed them onto the larger table in the center, sliding one to each person as they sat. "This is everything we have on this guy," he said. "Or everything we think we have on him."

"Garcia should be in on this," Rossi said, sitting in the chair beside Olivia before Elliot could get there.

Morgan dropped his phone in front of him, flipped open, and he hit a button. "Hey, princess," he said with a smile when it stopped ringing.

"Hello, my foxy prince," Garcia's voice said, filling the room. When met with silence, she asked, "Am I on speaker again?"

"Yeah, Penelope," Rossi said, flipping through his file. "You are."

Garcia cleared her throat. "Well, Sir, what can I do for you?"

"We need you to listen to this," Rossi said, leaning back in his chair. "We have Captain Stabler here, and he's gonna fill us in on this case. Stand by for any searches we need you to run."

"My fingers are warmed up and ready to dance," Garcia said as her cracking knuckles were heard through the phone.

"We've already narrowed down potential Un-Subs to twenty with Garcia's help," Reid said, looking at Elliot. "Anyone who fits the preliminary profile and has connections to New Jersey as well as New York," he explained, his eyes running over Munch and Fin.

"Un-Subs?" Fin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Unidentified subject of an investigation," Olivia blurted, at the same time as Hotchner. They looked at each other for a beat, then Olivia turned to glance at Elliot. She raised an eyebrow as she took a file from him.

His eyes angled downward at her and he bit his lip, then said, "There are photos and evidence logs in the folders, I swear we're not hiding anything. All our cards are on the table."

Olivia took a deep breath, then flopped her folder closed. "Excuse me," she said, getting out of her seat.

"Where are you going?" Hotchner asked her as he watched her slip around the table.

She gave him a narrow-eyed expression. "Bathroom," she said, then turned to leave the room.

Elliot, leaning up against the wall, watched her go before addressing the group. "The first four photos in your files are the victims we've found here in the city," he said. "After that, you've got the women found in Jersey."

"How did these last few victims come to your attention?" Hotchner asked, looking up at him.

"Well," Elliot said, flipping through his own folder. He held up a photo and spoke again. "This girl, Anna Berkin, was found just a few feet away from a body farm downtown, which is…"

"Government jurisdiction," Rossi cut in. "So you called….who, exactly?"

"Agent Dean Porter," Elliot said, nodding. "I've worked with him on a few cases before, thought he'd step in and help us with this one. When he heard the details he said it sounded like a case he'd heard about out of Jersey. He said his department wouldn't be able to do much and suggested I contact the BAU, so then I called…"

JJ interrupted him. "You called me," she said with a smile. "And here we are."

Elliot smiled back at her. "Here you are," he said. "I'm sure Detective Munch can give you the run-down of the evidence we've got so far," he said, uncrossing his arms. "I've gotta make a few phone calls from my office. I'll be back."

Reid raised an eyebrow as he watched Elliot leave, and he laughed to himself. Training told him the Elliot was leaving to find Olivia, but it didn't take a genius to see the meaning behind the looks the two had been giving each other since the BAU team had arrived in the city.

"Doctor Reid," Rossi said, snapping him out of his observation. "You with us?"

"Yeah," Reid barked, sitting up straighter as he looked at his director. He noticed Hotchner's slightly angry face and tense shoulders, and he bit his lip. He sighed and leaned back, knowing that things were about to get very messy, very fast.

**A/N: Reid sticks his analytical nose into something a little too deeply, next.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Even special agents keep their own secrets. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and all related characters. TStabler owns the following story.**

"You," Elliot said, walking into his office, his finger pointed straight at the woman standing in front of him.

"Me," she said to him, taking a step toward him.

"This isn't the bathroom," he joked, reaching for her. His hands rested on her hips and he pulled her into him. His eyes closed as he inhaled deeply, her scent filling his lungs.

"I knew you'd…" she stopped, her fingers running along his jaw and neck. "You'd find me."

In a flash, his hands were on her body, pawing and clawing as his lips crashed into hers. He spun her around hard, slamming her into the door. "Fuck, Liv," he hissed, tugging at her pants. His hand shirked in between her skin and the thick, black cotton, and he shifted her silk panties aside. He moaned as he thrust two fingers into her, his head dropping to her shoulder.

"Damn, El," she returned, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt the brass doorknob digging into the curve of her spine, but she couldn't bring herself to complain. The way his fingers moved inside of her made her fully realize how much easier it was to breathe with him holding her, touching her. "El," she moaned, digging her nails into his neck as he bit the skin of hers. "Please?"

"What?" he spat, prying his jaw away from her throat. "What do you want?"

"Desk," she breathed, her hips bucking to meet his thrusting hand.

He chuckled as he gripped her tight and spun her around fast, dropping her on his desk with a thump. He looked down at her and smirked as he watched her pull at his belt. "Shit, you really did miss me," he laughed.

She nodded, returning his smirk, and yanked hard on his pants. Her fingers smoothed up his legs and wrapped around his thick shaft, and she watched his eyes roll back as she stroked. "You missed me, too," she whispered.

He saw her mouth opening, her head looming closer, but he stopped her and shoved her back, flat on the desk. "We don't have time for that, baby," he said, shaking his head as he gave his hips a hard thrust, his mouth slamming over hers to catch her scream.

In the next room, just beyond the thin walls of Elliot's office, Special Agent Emily Prentiss looked up, slightly scared. "What the hell was that?"

"What?" Morgan asked, his dark eyes wrinkling in confusion. "I didn't hear anything."

Reid, shaking his head, spread out a few of the crime scene photos in front of him. "I think I got something," he said, looking toward Hotchner.

Still annoyed, Hotchner scowled. "You do?"

"Yeah," Reid nodded, his shaggy hair falling into his eyes as he did. "The bodies are all…posed…the same way." He held up two photos and shook them as he spoke. "Each girl is in an identical position, the hands are placed in exactly the same spots, the stab wounds are…"

"So it _is_ the same guy," Prentiss interrupted, ripping the photos out or Reid's hands.

"You do have your own copies, you know," Reid said, leaning back in his chair.

Prentiss raised an eyebrow at him, then turned her angular face toward Hotchner and Rossi. "These stab wounds line up perfectly. How could the killer make the same exact patterns if the women are struggling?"

Rossi looked toward Munch. "Do you have access to the autopsy reports on these victims?" He folded his hands and twiddled his thumbs. "Is there any way we could talk to your medical examiner?"

Munch nodded and got out of his seat, grabbing his sandwich as he rose. "I'll be right back," he said, biting into the sub. He walked out of the room just as Olivia walked back in. He sidestepped around her to avoid hitting her as he left.

Olivia raised her eyes as Munch breezed by her. "What did I miss?"

"He's goin' down to get Melinda," Fin said, scooting in so Olivia could get back to her chair.

"Oh, uh…I'll just sit…here," she said, plopping into the seat next to Elliot's vacated chair.

Reid looked at her for a moment, then he spoke. "Did you run back here from the bathroom?"

"No," Olivia answered, "Why?"

Elliot walked in, going almost unnoticed, and sat next to Olivia. He opened his file, ignoring the looks he was getting from Hotchner.

"Oh," Reid said, nodding once. "Because your cheeks are red, which is often a direct result of strenuous exercise and heightened body heat. Running at a high speed or a recent sexual experience are usual causes." He looked from her to Elliot, then back to her. "The latter is often accompanied by the whites of the eyes being brighter and a slight glowing of the skin…which both of you have."

Olivia looked at Elliot, biting her lip, then cautiously looked back to Reid. "Wow," she whispered.

Hotchner slammed his file down on the table, his eyes focused on Reid. "Did you notice anything else, Doctor Reid?"

"Yeah," Reid said, excited. "Olivia's hair is a bit damp around the crown of her head which..."

Elliot looked at Reid, then, and cleared his throat. "The case," he said, pointing to the photos. "Did you notice anything else about the case, is what I think he meant."

Reid smiled at Elliot, glanced at Olivia, then looked down. "They were all found in public parks, planted in the middle of an expansive area. No blood spatter or pooling beneath them suggests they weren't killed where they were found. We might be looking for one, singular crime scene."

"So we've got a man raping and killing young women," JJ expressed, "He kills them in exactly the same way, poses them in the same position when he's finished and…this seems like he wants them to be found, and he wants the credit."

"You're right," Melinda Warner, Medical Examiner, walked into the room with Munch. "Melinda Warner, the M E."

Rossi looked up, then shook the woman's hand. "Agent Rossi, BAU."

"So you're the one that lured our Detective Benson away from us," Melinda said, an evil smile crossing her face.

"I am," Rossi nodded. "Your loss is our gain." He crossed his arms and said, "Doctor…Warner is it?" He watched Melinda nod, and asked, "So these women were definitely moved?"

Melinda nodded and handed him a thick file. "Lividity was set hours before they were found, and the bruising and discoloration indicates they were moved and dragged sometime after they'd already stiffened."

"What about the stab wounds? If these girls were moving, they wouldn't be so...exact." Prentiss scratched her head and looked at the doctor. "These are very calculated injuries."

Melinda smiled. "Again, you're right. The stab wounds were all post-mortem, so he had plenty of time to get his...design...perfect. As for a struggle, there probably wasn't one. There were high levels of Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate and Rohypnol in their bloodstreams. These poor girls couldn't have fought back if they wanted to, at all."

"Hey, Garcia?" Olivia asked, looking at the phone in the center of the table.

Garcia cleared her throat and said, "Yes, I'm still here, and I promise I didn't hear anything Reid said about your cheeks."

Olivia laughed. "No problem," she shot Reid a hard look. "Listen, do any of our suspects have easy access to those chemicals?"

"Um…give me one second…" Garcia stammered, typing madly at her computers. "We have five possibles. Two pharmacists, a chemist, a police officer in the narcotics division in Queens, and one man who was married to an optometrist up until two months ago."

"Optometrist?" JJ asked, looking at the phone curiously. "How does that..."

Reid spoke before JJ could finish her question. "GHB is an ingredient in various eye drops, even over the counter versions like Visine. An optometrist would have the straight chemical in his office, along with Rohypnol, a tranquilizer often used to sedate patients before any sensory surgery, often involving the eyes. It completely incapacitates them to make such delicate procedures go smoothly."

"You've got degrees in…what…exactly?" Elliot asked, stunned and impressed.

Reid grinned proudly. "Chemistry, Mathematics, and Engineering," he said, his brown eyes twinkling with the merest hint of arrogance.

"Garcia," Rossi said, "Can you run full background checks on those five men?"

"Will do, bossman," Garcia said, the clicking and tapping still heard loudly through the speaker. "I will have it all sent to each of you as soon as possible."

"Talk to you later, sweetness," Morgan said, reaching for the phone.

Garcia laughed a bit and said, "Not if I talk to you first, sexypants."

Morgan quickly hit the button, ending the call, and looked up at his teammates, who were all staring at him. "What?"

"Sexypants?" Prentiss questioned.

Morgan narrowed his eyes, took a huge bite out of his sandwich, and flopped backward in his chair.

"Well, that's all we can do for tonight," Hotchner said, standing. "We have a block of rooms at the Westwick, a few blocks from here, so Captain, if your men would be so kind as to drive us over?"

"Sure," Elliot said, nodding toward Fin and Munch, who got out of their seats.

Hotchner spoke again as he walked toward the door. "We've got two rentals waiting at the hotel, so you don't need to provide transportation tomorrow." He nodded at Elliot, then looked at Olivia. "You coming, Benson?"

Olivia nodded at him. "Yeah, I'll walk out with…"

"You don't need to stay in a hotel, Liv," Elliot interrupted. "You know you can stay with…"

Hotchner's voice broke into Elliot's sentence. "She has to stay with the team, Captain. I assure you, she will be safe."

Elliot looked at Olivia as Hotchner walked out of the conference room, and he smirked at her. "You have your own room?"

Olivia rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile as she followed Hotchner out of the room. She knew she was playing a dangerous game, but it was one she'd grown to love, and one she was very good at playing.

* * *

><p>The knock on her door startled her, she dropped her book to the mattress and grabbed her gun. She walked slowly toward the door and carefully opened it, then sighed in relief. "You were serious about staying here?" she asked, backing away from the door.<p>

Elliot tossed a suit, still on its hanger, over the back of the chair near the door. "Of course I was," he said, turning. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her nose with his. "Do you want me to go?"

"No," she said, almost a whisper. "This just feels so…"

"They don't know?" he interrupted. "You're afraid to tell them," he said.

She bit her lip and looked up at him. "Up until a week ago, you were still married, El. That's not something I wanted to broadcast," she told him. "Why didn't you call me when…"

"Honey, I didn't even know my divorce was finalized until a few minutes before you called me. Hell, maybe you knew before I did," he said. "Besides, I wanted to wait until…"

She stopped him with a kiss. Her hands pressed into his back, holding him close, as she walked backward into the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a smirk on his face as he peppered her with kisses.

"I need to take a shower," she said, pulling away from him to turn on the water. "Figured you could use one, too."

He scoffed and shook his head as he tugged off the suit he'd been wearing all day. "Tell me the truth, Liv," he said softly, dropping his clothes to the floor. "You're not seeing anyone out there in Virginia, are you? That Hotchner seems to really hate…"

"El," she said, pressing her finger to his lips, "No one but you. I swear. Since your separation, since we…"

It was his turn to interrupt her with a kiss, his fingers tangling in her hair as he helped her out of her own clothes. He led her into the shower, then, under the spray, and as the water fell over them, he kissed her slowly.

She leaned backward against the tiles as her left leg skimmed up his body and hooked around his waist. Her right hand reached blindly for the hotel-provided soap and she gasped when his teeth grazed her neck.

He moaned into their kiss when he felt her sliding the bar down his back, working a lather over his skin. He bent his arm back to grab it from her and returned the favor, running the white brick over her skin as he slowly kissed her into oblivion.

She rocked her hips into his, her body eager for more of his, and she nipped at his bottom lip. "We don't have to rush now," she whispered.

He smiled against her lips and shifted a bit, then inched into her, letting out a low groan as he buried himself inside of her.

Across the hall, JJ and Prentiss pulled down the sheets to their beds, each one annoyed that they had to share a room. Then again, they both knew why Olivia was given her own space. "Maybe you should go talk to her," Prentiss offered.

"I have been…bitchy…haven't I?" JJ asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. "It's just…she came in here out of nowhere, instantly gets Hotch's attention, Reid wants to be her best friend, Rossi thinks she's the best thing to happen to this unit since…"

"You," Prentiss said. "You've been treating her the way everyone treated you, once upon a time. It's jealousy, you feel threatened. She's not gonna take your place, JJ, she's perfectly happy being just an agent, and she isn't after your job."

JJ sighed, then stood. "You don't think…I mean, what Reid said…" She cleared her throat. "You don't think she and Stabler have anything going on, do you?"

Prentiss tilted her head. "Why do you care?" she asked. "Oh, wait, no, JJ. You can't possibly…"

"He's cute, okay?" JJ interrupted. "After Will took off, I…"

"Wait, what?" Prentiss asked, stunned. "When did Will leave?"

JJ shook her head. "A few months ago. Forget it, I'm fine, Henry's fine, we're fine." She pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail and walked toward the door. "What do I say?"

"Just tell her you're sorry for ignoring her, and you're sorry for almost ruining her last case, and tell her…"

"I got it," JJ said, rolling her eyes. "Thanks." She walked out into the hallway and took a deep breath as she raised her hand to knock on Olivia's door. She bit her lip and waited, taking another deep breath as the door opened. "Oh, wow," she said, her eyes widening.

Elliot stood before her, the door opened just enough to give her a good view of his towel-clad body. He smirked and ran a hand down his bare chest, knowing she was staring and why. "Can I help you?"

"I…I think…I have the wrong…room," JJ said, her eyes traveling up and down his body. She licked her lips and took a step backward. "I was looking for…"

"Olivia's still in the bathroom," he said, smiling. "You know women," he chuckled. "All the lotions and creams and moisturizers."

"Yeah," JJ said, narrowing her eyes.

"El? Who is…" Olivia stopped when she saw JJ through the door. "Hi," she said with a curt nod.

JJ waved. "I, um, I wanted to talk to you about…something," she said. "But I guess it can wait until tomorrow."

Olivia bit her lip and nodded, then watched Elliot close the door as JJ walked away. "Shit," she hissed.

Elliot walked over to her and took both of her hands in his. "Relax," he said. "If you want, I will just tell her that I stayed her because I was filling you in on the case. She doesn't know anything happened, and she…"

"El, that's not…that's not what…" she shook her head and took of her robe, then sat on the bed.

"Then what, baby?" he asked, sitting beside her.

Olivia tugged at his towel, laughing slightly. "Now she's gonna be picturing you in nothing but that towel as long as we're on this case."

Elliot laughed and kissed her, pressing her flat into the mattress. "Never affected how you did your job, did it?"

"It's a distracting thought, El," she said, scratching up his back as they moved together toward the middle of the bed.

He groaned as he rubbed against her, and he whispered, "If it makes you feel any better, when she's thinking of me in that towel, I'm gonna be thinking of you naked."

She chuckled and kissed him as they melded together, unaware of the man in the next room plotting his own next move.

**A/N: Hotchner corners Olivia, then Elliot corners Hotchner. Someone gets a black eye. But why?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: It's hard to breathe when you feel suffocated.**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and the characters; TStabler© owns the story you're about to read.**

"We have local PD increasing their patrol of the parks in the city," JJ said, walking into the conference room that had become the BAU's temporary home. She turned her head and saw Elliot, sitting next to Olivia, and she smiled at him.

He smiled back and nodded once, noting the pink tinge in her cheeks, and he chuckled to himself. He loved a good ego boost, no matter where it came from.

"Is that it?" Hotchner snapped, his head still down as he read a file.

JJ balked. "Uh, well, from my end…"

Hotchner finally looked up. "Then you should go talk to the traffic bureau, right? We need access to the red light cameras near the parks. Get the codes and send them to Garcia." He narrowed his eyes. "Now."

JJ raised both brows and huffed a bit as she turned her head, making her blonde hair fly through the air, and left the room.

"Was that necessary? She was just doing her job." Olivia asked, voicing the concern of everyone left in the room.

Hotchner looked at her, his eyes dark and serious. "Was it necessary for Stabler to be in the team's hotel last night? The government is not paying for you to fraternize with half of the NYPD."

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked, folding her arms.

As he stood, Hotchner tilted his head. "Can I see you outside, Benson?"

With a scoff, she stood and followed him into the hallway. "What the hell is your prob…"

"That hotel room was for you," he snapped. "Not you plus one! Especially him. He lives a few blocks from here. There was no reason to..."

Olivia cut him off. "He wanted to spend some time with me, Hotch! I haven't seen him in a while. It's not like..."

"Did you sleep with him?" Hotncher interrupted. He was looming closer to her, keeping her locked into the corner. "JJ said he looked pretty comfortable with you, last night."

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she returned, offended and verging on angry.

Hotchner bent forward, his face only a few inches from hers. "How long have you been seeing him? Is that where you go on the weekends? You come here? To be with him?"

Narrowing her eyes now, confused, she shook her head. "Where is this coming from? Why do you care?"

"Answer me, Olivia," he whispered, bending his head. If he wanted, he could kiss her right now. He felt her hot breath on his lips and he shivered a bit as he threatened, "I could get Garcia to run a trace on your GPS, if I have to."

Olivia's eyes widened. "Are you…back up," she said, pressing her hand to his chest.

"You left this city behind a long time ago," Hotchner told her. "I assumed that meant you left the people in it behind, as well."

"Hotch," she breathed, "Please, back up."

"Is that really what you want?" he asked, tilting his head.

She pushed him away from her and took a breath. "If you're worried about this affecting my job, or this case, then you can back off. It's never gotten in the way before. I can do my…"

"Before?" Hotchner asked, his voice darker than it was a moment ago. "So this has been going on since…"

Rossi cleared his throat, folding his arms as he stood behind Hotchner. "Everyone's here now," he said. "So can we get back to work?"

Hotchner backed up a few more steps, and he sighed. "Just tell me how long?" he almost begged Olivia.

Eyeing Rossi, Olivia shook her head. "I meant…Elliot and I are close. Closer than most partners. It's never gotten in the way, okay?" She tugged on her jacket and narrowed her eyes. "I never said I was sleeping with him."

Rossi moved as Olivia breezed by him and headed into the conference room. He turned to Hotchner, then, and shook his head. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Hotchner replied. Then he closed his eyes. "Everything." He took another deep breath and let it out slowly before walking with Rossi into the conference room. "Reid," he snapped, pointing a finger. "Go."

"Well, uh, um," Reid stuttered, twitching a bit with what was not nerves but excess energy. He took a sip from his large, paper, coffee cup and cleared his throat. He lifted a remote control into his hand and pressed a button. The white screen at the front of the room blinked and flickered, then crime scene photos came into focus. "The stab wounds line up perfectly on each victim, if we overlap the photos." He clicked the button, and the images layered themselves, proving his point. "The killer was leaving us a message, it's a…"

"Rune," Olivia said, biting her lip.

Reid looked at her, taken aback slightly by the darker energy she was giving off, anger or fear, or both, he thought. "Right," he said. "Othala. It symbolizes ancestral land. Or more commonly, hearth, home, and family."

Prentiss ran a hand through her long, dark, hair. "So…what…this man thinks he owns the land? He thinks of these women as his family?"

"Possibly both," Reid said. He clicked the button again and the runic symbol appeared over the stab wounds on the top photo. "Vikings used to mark their property with Othala as a sign of ownership, a warning to other Vikings or intruders that they would face dire consequences if they tried to steal or invade whatever had been marked."

Olivia uncrossed her arms and leaned into the table, relaxing slightly, her eyes drifting from Elliot to the screen. "Our perp is branding his vics," she said. "He's making sure we know they belong to him."

"Unsub," Hotchner said, glaring at her. "The unsub is branding his victims."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's what I just said," she retorted.

Morgan coughed, getting the attention of the room. "I talked to Garcia this morning. The only things these women had in common, besides hair color, were their pharmacy and their eye-doctor."

"Which doesn't help us at all," Prentiss said, rolling her eyes. "Our suspects are pharmacy techs and optometrists. This hasn't gotten us anywhere."

Rossi turned to Morgan. "Call Garcia, tell her to run our suspects college transcripts and other educational background. Find out who, if anyone, has any experience in ancient history, specifically Vikings and runes."

"On it," Morgan said, a smirk on his face as he pulled out his phone, dialed Garcia's number, and left the room.

"What else do we know?" Hotchner asked, his eyes fixed on Olivia, trying to get a read on her body language towards Elliot.

"Serial killers are often abused as children, violated or exposed to the same methods of torture they use on their victims," Reid said. "We should also look into juvenile records, since killers with this level of rage and sexual deviance are often institutionalized or treated for early-childhood psychoses."

Hotchner nodded. "You and Benson, go find Morgan, tell him to get Garcia to run those searches and wait for the results." He turned to look at Prentiss. "Find JJ, head out to the pharmacy and find their optometrist."

Rossi stood up as the others did. "I'll go with you, Prentiss." He checked his gun and said, "I don't think JJ is finished with the traffic bureau," he snarled, eyeing Hotchner with irritation in his eyes.

"What do you want me to do?" Elliot asked, silent until now, though he desperately wanted to punch the man in front of him.

Hotchner watched the others leave and then smirked as he stood and perched on the edge of the table. "I want you to tell me what's going on between you and Agent Benson."

"Liv has been my partner for over a decade," Elliot said, sounding pissed off. "We're closer than most married couples, trust me on that, and that doesn't just change because she took a job in a different…"

"You know what I'm asking you, Captain," Hotchner interrupted. His voice has dropped in volume and his eyes had softened somehow. "She…she's kept herself at a distance, since she started with the unit, and I just want to know if I've been trying too hard to get something I could never have."

"You…you're talking about…" Elliot shook his head and a small grin splayed across his mouth. "You have a thing for her?"

"More like…I'm intrigued by her," Hotchner said. "It doesn't happen to me often, and when it does, I tend to let it consume…well, let's just say, it's hard not to think about her."

Elliot's grin grew into a wicked smirk. "Don't I know it?" he laughed.

"One question," Hotchner said, "One answer is all I'm looking for." He tightened his jaw and his nostrils flared a bit. "Are you sleeping with her?"

Elliot's left eyebrow rose and he got out of his seat, grabbing his files. "I think you should really ask…"

"I did ask her," Hotchner interrupted. "She refused to give me a real answer."

Elliot folded his arms and shifted his weight. "Because it's really none of your business."

Hotchner stood again, this time walking toward Elliot. "I figured I would get an answer out of you. If Vikings could lay claim to what was rightfully theirs by drawing symbols, I assumed a man like you would have no problem claiming it verbally."

Elliot scoffed. "Claim? Like I own her? No," he said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"Then how would you put it, Stabler?" Hotchner asked. "I know she comes up every weekend to see you. I have close friends I haven't seen in years, so don't tell me she's just visiting a friend."

"Not every weekend," Elliot said dropping his hands and running one down his face. "Did she tell you that?"

Hotchner sighed. "No," he said. "You just did. I asked her, but she…ignored the question." He took another step as he stood up straighter. "I hope you're as competitive in your personal endeavors as you are in the field, Stabler."

"Come again?" Elliot tilted his head and furrowed his brow.

"Are you willing to fight for her?" Hotchner asked.

Elliot chuckled. "I don't have to fight for what's already mine," he said, his own body straightening and stiffening in defense.

Hotchner smirked at him. "There ya go," he said, pointing. "You just claimed…"

"You know what I meant!" Elliot snapped.

"Long distance relationships are hard," Hotchner said, looking Elliot in the eyes. "When you break her, and you will, I'll be there to put her back together. Just remember that."

Elliot looked over his shoulder. "That'll never happen," he said, shaking his head.

Hotchner simply grinned and walked out of the room, leaving Elliot to wonder, and worry.

* * *

><p>Waiting for Morgan to finish a conversation with Garcia was like watching paint dry. They could talk for hours, about anything and everything, and they usually did.<p>

"Derek," Olivia said, putting her hands on her hips. "Anytime today?"

Morgan looked up at her and winked. "Thanks, pussycat," he said into the phone. Then he made kissy noises that made Olivia and Reid roll their eyes. He hung up the phone and said, "Two of our five lucky contestants spent most of their teenage years in therapy, and one was housed in a facility for disturbed youths. In Jersey."

"We're getting somewhere," Reid said with a clap of his hands. "Is she sending the…" he was interrupted when his phone bleeped. "Guess she is."

Olivia laughed and slapped Morgan on the back. "Looks like we might be out of here sometime soon."

Morgan laughed and nodded, then looked down at his phone. "I'm gonna find Hotch and let him know."

"I would think you'd want to stay as long as possible," Reid said as Morgan walked away. "Am I wrong?" he asked, tilting his head.

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. "Spence, what are you…"

"I'm not blind, Liv," Reid said, his voice softer. "Quite the opposite, actually. I see things no one else does. I see the way he looks at you, the way you look at him. I see the way your feet always point in his direction, the direction in which you want to head, even when you know you can't."

Olivia shook her head in disbelief. "You've been profiling me? I thought that was against the rules, Spence! Never profile a teammate!"

"You're not a teammate," Reid said, shaking his head back at her. "You're not, you know it. It's more than that, and I can't help noticing things, it's part of who I am. I notice things even you don't."

"Enlighten me, Doctor Reid," Olivia stated, annoyed now.

Reid took her hand in his and turned it palm up. "The way you shake whenever you're more than ten feet away from him, the way you stop shaking when he's closer than that, the way you go completely numb when he's farther away than that. The way you keep anyone who threatens to find that out at arm's length….except me. Why?"

With tears in her eyes, she yanked her hand away, shaking it out, and she said, "I don't know, Spence. I just know that…you're the only one around here I can trust. The only one, besides Rossi, who doesn't have some kind of ulterior motive for getting close to me."

"Hocth doesn't have ulterior motives," Reid said, "He just doesn't know how to handle his feelings. After his marriage failed, he's been afraid of…"

"Reid," Hotchner's voice called.

Olivia and Reid turned, and they both gasped. "Oh, my God," she said, running toward Elliot, who had a trickle of blood on his shirt and a cut lip. She ran her fingers along his lips, her eyes wide. She was oblivious to Hotchner staring as she gazed at Elliot, an unasked question scrawled on her face.

Reid narrowed his eyes at Hotchner's swollen eye, and he looked at Elliot. "You fought? Who won?"

Elliot and Hotchner looked at each other, scowling, before Elliot said, "Me."

Hotchner scoffed. "Yeah, until we get out of this city," he snapped.

"Guys!" Rossi yelled, poking his head out of the front door. "Get cleaned up and knock it off! We have to go!"

"Where?" Hotchner asked, straightening out his tie.

Rossi sighed. "We got another body."

**A/N: Fistfight? Why? And Garcia may bring the case closer to an end!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I can feel you breathe, washing over me, and suddenly I'm melting into you.**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and the characters; TStabler© owns the story you're about to read.**

Rossi stood behind Olivia as she crouched near the body, his arms were folded and he was watching her, studying her almost as much as he was studying the crime scene. Something was different about her; he couldn't put his finger on it.

"This one is different," Reid said, getting Rossi's attention, his eyes traveling the length of the lifeless body at his feet. "Too different."

"How so?" Rossi asked, dropping his arms and taking a step forward.

Reid pointed to the body. "Blood pooling," he said.

Olivia turned to look over her shoulder. "She was killed here," she said. "This one wasn't moved. He knows we're onto him, he's rushing now."

"And the stab wounds," Reid added, "Are in a totally different pattern."

"Another rune?" Elliot asked, crouching in the same position as Olivia, right next to her.

Reid nodded. "Sowilo," he said. "The mark of victory."

Elliot scoffed. "This bastard hasn't won anything," he huffed, rising to his feet. He brushed off his knees and looked at Rossi. "Did, um, what's her name…Garcia…did she get anything on…"

Hotchner, quiet until now, interrupted him. "Two of our suspects have experience with runes. Alan Davenport was married to a historian, specializing in the Netherlands and Viking culture. She taught at Harvard for a while."

"And the other?" Rossi asked.

Hotchner, still glaring at Elliot, said, "The other, Mark Kingston, wrote a book on ancient symbolic languages."

"Wait, Kingston?" Reid piped up, shoving one hand in his pocket as the other flailed in time with his speech. "Markus L. Kingston, he wrote The Mark of Ancient Man? I've read that three times! I wrote to him through his publisher three times! I thought he should know he had misinterpreted the meanings of several hieroglyphs and Phoenician symbols."

"Well, Doctor Reid," Rossi said, slapping the young agent on the back, "You can tell him yourself. You're about to meet him." He looked toward Olivia, then Hotchner. "You two, go pick him up."

"Hold on…" Elliot began, his nostrils flaring as a wave of nervous possessiveness ripped through him.

Rossi held up a hand. "You and me, Stabler, are going after Davenport. Reid, Morgan, and Prentiss will finish up here, and JJ is dealing with the officers who were supposed to be watching this place."

Elliot bit his lip, crossed his arms, and nodded. Then he cleared his throat. "I don't know how an interrogation works with you guys, but Liv and I are great together in the…"

"No interrogations," Hotchner said. "We question them, look for any evidence in the home or subtleties with their body language or speech, and if we're lucky we get the classic signs of guilt or psychosis. We study human behavior for a reason, Captain Stabler."

"And what reason is that, Agent Hotchner?" Elliot asked, returning Hotchner's cold tone.

With a scoff and a slight sneer, Hotchner said, "So we don't have to put up with useless interrogations."

Olivia stepped in front of Elliot before he could pounce on Hotchner, which is what he was preparing to do. She looked up, into his eyes, and tried to smile. "Easy," she whispered. "Just go with Rossi, okay? I'll be fine, El, this is how we work."

"I don't want you working with him," he said through gritted teeth. His entire body was tense and his chest seemed to puff out more than usual.

She noticed, and she ran one hand down from his shoulder to his arm. "You don't have anything to worry about, you know that. We just work together."

"Do you know how many times I've said that about you and me?" he said to her quietly, relaxing everything but his tight jaw and furrowed brow.

"Exactly," she whispered. "You and me, El." She gave his forearm a squeeze and turned away from him, finally walking over to Hotchner, who seemed to be waiting for her to make such a move. "You ready?"

"Always," Hotchner nodded, then walked with Olivia toward his rented car.

Rossi watched them leave as he strode over to Elliot, eager to get their own pursuit going, and he sighed. He hoped he had done the right thing.

* * *

><p>The first few minutes of their car ride were awkward and quiet, tension filling the space between driver and passenger. Hotchner kept glancing at Olivia, but he noticed she was doing her best not to look at him at all.<p>

He sighed and gave in, caving to his need to hear her voice. "Look, about what happened this morning…"

"When you asked me questions that were none of your business, for one thing, and then slugged Elliot?" she said dryly, still not looking at him.

He shook his head and held in the laugh that was building. He found her amusing, even when she was pissed at him. "Yeah," he said. "I just…you're as good a profiler as anyone on this team, Benson. You have to have figured out that…"

"I get it," she said, cutting him off. "But since I haven't done anything about it, Hotch, what does the profiler in you think my answer would be if you ever asked?"

Biting his lip, he turned the wheel of the car and let out another shaky breath. "That's the thing," he said. "You're very hard to read."

"Spence reads me just fine," she retorted. "Almost better than El…"

"So, are you?" Hotchner cut her off before she could say his name. "Are you sleeping with him?"

Olivia gave one, single snort of laughter. "You two beat the shit out of each other," she said. "I'm pretty sure he gave you the answer to that."

"He said…he said something that…" Hotchner swallowed once as he turned down another street. "I need to hear it from you. Is this just sex? Is this a relationship? Do you see it lasting, or are you gonna run like you usually…"

"How the hell do you know what…" she paused. "Right. FBI. You know everything about me, don't you?" She shook her and laughed in bitter jest, and said, "I wouldn't drive from Quantico to New York City every chance I got if it was just sex. I could get that from…"

"Me," Hotchner interjected. He pulled the car over, parked it, and turned the key, shutting it off. "So it's a relationship. How serious?"

"Hotch, please," Olivia rolled her eyes. "We're on a case, here, and I really just wanna find the son of a bitch before we lose another…"

"He told me you were getting married," Hotchner said flatly. He turned to look at her. "He told me to stay away from you, that if I so much as tried to hold your hand he would know, and he would hunt me down and…"

"I'm not…we're not…he said that?" She had gone pale, her breath quickened, her hands started to shake. "He actually said that? Those words?"

Hotchner nodded. "That's when I punched him. I don't like being threatened, especially if I'm being lied to, so I need to know…"

"He didn't ask," she said, talking over him. "He never…I don't think I'm ready to…married?"

"If he did ask, would you say yes?" Hotchner turned in his seat. He looked at her and tried to pick up every subtle signal he could. "Would you leave the new life you've only just settled into to come back here for him? Throw away this job for the one you walked away from? Spend forever with him before ever even having a single moment with…someone else?"

Olivia didn't answer him. She blinked once, her heart drumming against her chest. "We have work to do."

"Answer the question," he said to her, firm and demanding. His eyes were stern and his lips were pressed into a flat line.

"I would say yes," she heard herself whisper, "But we would have to talk about…I don't think I could come back to New York. Not…not permanently."

Hotchner tilted his head. "Unless you can see him moving to Virginia, I think it's time to really talk about where it's going. It's not gonna work, is it?" He turned away from her and got out of the car, leaving Olivia to stew in confusion and fear, knowing that in a minute, she would push it all aside and do her job, with him.

* * *

><p>Rossi let the door before him close, then pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and waited. "Morgan? Rossi. Davenport wasn't home, we're gonna head out to catch him at work. Garcia is where? How the…okay, just tell her to…fine. Fine. Bye."<p>

Elliot looked over at Rossi. "That sounded interesting."

"Garcia is at the station," Rossi said. "Apparently Morgan thought it would be easier to get what we need from her if she were here with us, so he set her up in your Technical Unit. She's like a little kid in a toy store."

Elliot laughed. "Yeah, there are a lot of crazy gadgets up in TARU," he said, turning away from Rossi.

Rossi chuckled, imagining Garcia jumping up and down and playing with every computer in the unit. "So," he began, walking back toward his car. "Wanna tell me why my best agent has a black eye?"

"He's lucky that's all he has," Elliot gruffed, plopping into the passenger seat of the black sedan.

Rossi laughed as he got into the driver's side. "That didn't answer my question," he said, starting the car. "Didn't have anything to do with Olivia, did it?" He waited for an answer as he drove away.

Silently, Elliot nodded, licking his lips, flinching as the sting of the split in the bottom one seared again. He brought his fingers to his mouth and dabbed lightly, then he smiled, remembering how gently Olivia had done the same thing.

"Explain," Rossi said. "I'm aware of Hocth's feelings towards her, but yours…"

"His feelings for her," Elliot scoffed, shaking his head. "Ya know, he threw the first punch. He hit me first. I'm not the type of guy who just walks away from that, especially when it's in defense of the woman I…"

"Love?" Rossi cut in, grinning. "You're the guy, aren't you?"

Elliot narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"She makes these really long phone calls sometimes," Rossi said, his eyes on the road. "When it's late, when she's the only one left in the squad room doing paperwork or waiting for a lead on a case. Her eyes are bright and she doesn't stop smiling until she hangs up." He turned his head a bit. "That's you, right?"

A small smile grew as Elliot said, "Yeah. That's me."

"Why did he punch you? What button did you push?" Rossi asked, his grin now matching Elliot's.

"He got in my face about Liv," he said with a sigh. "He told me that there was nothing I could do to keep him from trying anything with her since I'm here and she's there. I told him there was if I married her, and then he…his face got all red and he hit me." He scrunched up his face. "I didn't think he had it in him."

"He's a Chihuahua," Rossi said, pulling the car into a parking lot. "Small and not threatening, but has one hell of a bite when provoked."

"Yeah, well, he should learn not to bite bulldogs," Elliot snarked, getting out of the car.

Rossi was right behind him, eager to get Davenport in his sights, eager to get out of New York before he lost a member of his team.

* * *

><p>Olivia stormed back into the conference room, throwing her jacket down on a chair and heading over to the coffee pot.<p>

"I take it you didn't have any luck?" JJ asked, her small hands wrapped around her own foam cup of coffee.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "We got Kingston," she said, gulping down the lukewarm coffee before pouring a second cup. "But he has a solid alibi. He was in Cincinatti for the last week, lecturing future pharmacists. He's in an interrogation room with Reid and Hotch, giving his professional opinion on the marks on the bodies."

"That's good," JJ said, tilting her head. "Why you do you look like you're ready to punch someone."

"I am," Olivia snapped, dropping heavily into the seat her jacket was covering. She shook her head and took a sip of her coffee.

"Wanna talk about it?" JJ leaned forward on her elbows and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you care?" Olivia returned. She twisted the cup around before taking another slow sip, glaring at the blonde. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes and made an odd noise. "The more I look at you, the more you remind me of someone."

JJ smiled. "Really? A friend?"

"No," Olivia said, dry and quick. With another sip of her coffee she relaxed slightly. "Just…something Hotch said. He was trying to…I know what he was trying to do, and I'm pissed off because it…it almost worked."

"You lost me," JJ said, shifting in her seat.

"He was trying to make me second guess something…something that's really important to me," Olivia explained softly. "God, that arrogant, manipulative…"

"That's Hotchner," JJ said with a small laugh. "Listen, Olivia, I…I know I've been cold and…"

"Bitchy," Olivia said with a raised eyebrow.

JJ laughed again. "Yeah, I've been a first class bitch to you, and I just…I need you to know it wasn't…personal. I just assumed…well Rossi and Hotchner were your biggest fans before your plane even landed, but Reid…when Spencer started hanging out with you more, I felt…he's my son's Godfather, so I…"

"I'm not trying to steal him from you," Olivia said, stopping her from stumbling over her words any longer. "He asked you to come with us whenever we went anywhere, and you never did. That was on you. He talks about you and Henry a lot, ya know. I think maybe he feels a little bit more for you than you realize."

"Spencer?" JJ questioned. "No way." She bit her lip. "Really?"

Olivia smiled. "I know, you're terrified. He's your best friend, you're scared to death you're gonna screw up just like you have with every other relationship you've ever had, you would rather jump off of a bridge than do anything to ruin what you have with him."

"Now that you mention it, I…I guess that's always been in the back of my mind, I just never really thought about Spencer like that. Because I didn't think I was allowed to, if that makes sense," JJ said with a sad nod.

"Oh, yeah," Olivia laughed. "You spend hours…days…years of your life trying to convince yourself you're not in love with him because you know you shouldn't be."

JJ narrowed her eyes. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"She is," Elliot's voice broke in.

JJ looked up at him, watching him move into the room, her eyes following him as he sat in the chair next to Olivia. "Oh," she said, stunned. "I kind of figured you two had something going on when I saw you in her room...in that towel, but I…wow."

Elliot smirked and took Olivia's hand. "It's worth it," he said. "Facing that fear, knowing that what you could have if you take the chance with that person is more amazing than anything you've ever had with anyone else. You'd rather die than go back to the way things were, so it's more of an incentive to make things work, no matter what. Distance doesn't matter, other people don't matter, nothing will get in your way."

"El," Olivia breathed, squeezing his hand.

JJ smiled at Elliot, looked at Olivia for a moment, then returned her gaze to him. "So you weren't just being rude. You really…"

"Was not interested," he interrupted. "At all. You're a nice person, and you are…very pretty, but…sorry. I'm completely infatuated with her." He jerked his head toward Olivia and chuckled.

JJ looked down into her coffee cup. "So is someone else," she said, then she sipped the last bit.

"Yeah," Elliot sighed. "I know."

A throat cleared behind them, and out of habit Olivia pulled her hand from Elliot's and turned around. "Hey, Spence."

"I think…I think you guys need to come listen to this," Reid said, jerking his head down the hall.

As he stood, Elliot asked, "Is Kingston giving you something you can use?"

Reid nodded. "Yeah," he said. "A full confession."

Olivia squinted. "Wait, he has a rock solid alibi. I didn't think he was…"

"He's not," Reid interrupted. "But he knows who, and how, and you need to hear it. Both of you."

Olivia looked at Elliot, confusion in her eyes, and she sighed.

Elliot smirked at her, resting his hand on her lower back as he guided her from the room, following Reid.

JJ bit her lip as she watched them leave, the gears in her head turning, figuring out a way to get what she wanted, and give someone else what he wanted in the process.

**A/N: Someone gets caught kissing, next! But…who?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: If I just breathe, let it fill the space between, I'll know everything is alright .**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and the characters; TStabler© owns the story you're about to read.**

Knowing Elliot and Olivia were in the pit of the interrogation room, Hotchner took the chance to look around. He walked out of the conference room, letting his eyes wander over the bullpen. It reminded him of the one back at home, right down to the coffee stained desks.

He took a breath then turned, focusing on Elliot's office door. He raised an eyebrow, looked over his shoulder, and walked toward it. He wrapped his hand around the knob, furrowing his brow as he twisted and pushed his way into the office.

The first thing that hit him was the overbearing mahogany desk, littered with papers and pens, and he chuckled. "Maybe we're not that different, Stabler," he mumbled, walking closer. He looked around, taking in the large window to his left, the accolades and medals hanging on the walls, and the small folded up cot in the corner.

He shook his head, seeing more and more of himself in every bit of the room, then he turned back to the desk. He noticed the picture frames lining the back edge, and slowly he reached for one photo that struck him. He lifted the silver frame, brought the picture to his face, and ran a finger along the image.

"Find something interesting?" a voice from the doorway called.

"He has kids, Reid," Hotchner said, still staring at the photo in his hands. "This boy…can't be any older than Jack." He turned the frame around and held it up so Reid could see it. "Look how happy she looks with him," he said.

Reid smiled as he walked over and took the picture out of Hotchner's hand. He looked down at the photo, Olivia smiling brightly, as if she'd been caught in the middle of a laugh, as she held a young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes in her lap. "He's not her son, Hotch."

"I know that," Hotchner said, taking the photo from Reid and putting it back down on the desk. "But she certainly looks at him like he is."

"Why are you in here, anyway?" Reid asked. "JJ is in the conference room waiting to give you the reports from the traffic cameras, Garcia has surveillance from the park last night, and Olivia and Elliot…"

"I don't get it, Reid," Hotchner interrupted, lifting up another picture. He gazed down at Olivia's face, surrounded by the gold frame, and he smiled. "There's no way a man like him can possibly handle everything that comes with Olivia Benson. She's too intense for him. Me, though…I know what she's been through. What she's going through."

Reid crossed his arms and bit his lip. "Hotch, I think you're trying to rationalize reasons why she should leave him when we…"

"Give me one reason she shouldn't," Hotchner said, snapping his head up as he put the frame down.

Reid tilted his head, studying Hotchner for a moment. "Maybe you're right," he said, staring at the older man. "Maybe he doesn't see her flaws the way you do. Maybe he doesn't see how damaged she is when, obviously, you do." He folded his arms and smiled a bit. "Or maybe he sees it all, but he just doesn't care. Maybe he loves her in spite of her flaws, and maybe he wants to be the one to repair the damage. And maybe, just maybe, you can't handle the fact that he loves her more than you ever could."

Hotchner was silent for a moment, then he cleared his throat. "What, are you profiling him, now, too?"

"No, Hotch," Reid said, shaking his head. "I'm profiling you." He stepped closer. "You're in his office, I mean, that's going a bit too far, isn't it? You're trying to find evidence of his infidelity, but all you've found is proof that he's serious about her. You wanted to see pictures of some leggy blond to hold over his head, but all you have now are pictures of her, her and his kids. Their lives are intertwined, woven together, and you…you don't even know her middle name."

Sighing and closing his eyes, Hotchner said, "Grace."

"All right, I stand corrected," Reid chuckled. "But you wouldn't have known if you didn't have to read her files to give her this job." He put his hand on Hotchner's shoulder. "We have a job to do, that's why we're here, Hotch."

Hotchner moved slowly, following Reid out of the room. "Yeah," he whispered.

Just as Reid and Hotchner made the turn into the conference room, they were bombarded with voices. People surrounded them, shouting and waving papers and photos.

"Hold it!" Hotchner yelled, throwing his arms up. "One at a time, please?" He looked at JJ. "You first."

The woman smiled and flicked her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Red light cam on Eighty-Fifth caught a white Mercury Sable barreling through the light at eleven thirty last night."

"This means something to me because…" Hotchner trailed off.

JJ scoffed. "Because Davenport drives a white Mercury Sable. Garcia has footage from the security camera at the park. White Sable parked at the front gate."

Prentiss spoke up before Hotchner could say anything. "Davenport wasn't at home, or at work when Rossi and Captain Stabler went looking for him." She grabbed the remote and clicked a button, a photo coming up on the white screen in the room. "The car was spotted in the driveway at this address, and as of three hours ago it hadn't moved. Garcia ran a search, Hotch, and this is his mother's place."

"Why are you all still standing here, then?" Hotchner asked. "Let's go get the bastard."

"Wait," Rossi said, nodding at Elliot. "There's more."

Elliot cleared his throat and glared at Hotchner as he spoke. "Kingston claims that Davenport is behind this. They worked together at RyLink Pharmaceuticals three years ago, until the plant was shut down."

Hotchner raised an eyebrow. "Why was it…"

Olivia interrupted him. "Two lab techs were found floating in a purification tank. When their bodies were pulled out of the water, Kingston says they had stab wounds all over their bodies, same pattern as our…"

"Why didn't we know about these two?" Hotchner cut her off. "And why didn't Kingston come to us before if…"

Elliot spoke over him, smirking. "The company covered it up. Set the place on fire to destroy the evidence, because at the time, the director feared the deaths were caused by the drug the two women had been testing." He threw a file at Hotchner. "The director of RyLink is…"

"Harold Davenport," Olivia said with a grin, nudging Elliot beside her.

Hotchner flipped open the file. "Alan Davenport's father. He was protecting his son then, and he's probably doing it now. We need to get out the mother's house." He slapped the file shut and tossed it onto the table. "Gear up."

Rossi grabbed a vest, from the pile at the end of the table, and his gun, then looked around the room at the several other people doing the same. "Wait a minute…" he paused. "Where's Morgan?"

Olivia and Elliot looked at each other, their hands frozen in the middle of sealing the velcro on their vests. Olivia spoke as they slowly finished getting ready. "I saw him…out in the squad room a few minutes ago. But…I don't think he saw me. He looked a little…busy."

Hotchner rolled his eyes, holstered his gun, and stormed out into the open office space to find Morgan. "He's not out here, Benson, what the hell are you…" a thumping noise grabbed his attention, and he rested a hand on the butt of his gun as he moved toward the source.

He reached for the knob, knowing the noise was coming from behind the door, and he turned slowly. Unsure of what was waiting there, he pulled the door open and aimed his gun, and then he gasped. "Morgan! Garcia! What in the hell…"

"Sir! Sorry, Sir, I was…we were…I was…" Garcia rambled fumbling to find her bag and straighten her glasses.

"I know what you were doing," Hotchner said, his eyes narrow. "We'll talk about this later, right now, Morgan, grab your gear. We're ending this, now."

"We got Davenport?" Morgan asked, smoothing out his shirt.

Hotchner nodded, then moved, gesturing to Rossi that they were ready to roll as he passed by the conference room. "I hate New York," he mumbled to himself, sulking as he walked into the hallway.

When the group made it out of the building, they headed for their black cars, eager to end this, when suddenly Hotchner turned. "Stabler," he said, holding a hand up toward Elliot. "You don't need to come with us. We can handle the take-down."

"Bullshit," Elliot spat, "This is my case, and I'm seeing it through to the end. I made that clear on the phone with your…"

"You have to run things here," Hotchner said, a hint of a smirk on his face. "You do your job, let us do ours."

"Munch can handle things while I'm gone, Agent Hotchner," Elliot said firmly. "I'm not backing away from this." He looked at Olivia. "I need to be there."

Hotchner leaned closer to him. "I can take care of her, Stabler," he said. "You don't need to…"

"Liv!" Elliot yelled, staring unblinking into Hotchner's eyes. "You and me! In the cruiser! We'll get there faster." With a smirk of his own, he sneered at Hotchner and changed his path, laughing when he saw Olivia already getting into the car.

Hotchner, fuming as he settled into the passenger seat of his rented car, slammed the door and hit the dashboard.

Rossi, starting the car, said, "Let it go, Aaron. Focus. Or it won't be Olivia who needs to worry about her job."

Hotchner turned, biting his lip. He nodded once as he buckled his seatbelt, and he watched the blur of red and blue whiz passed. He took a deep breath, ignoring the fact that Elliot and Olivia were alone in that car, and he let his thoughts settle on Davenport and their case.

* * *

><p>"So what's up with you and Hotchner?" Olivia asked, looking out the window. Her body wavered in her seat as the car weaved in and out of lanes, their sirens and lights giving them an advantage over the city traffic.<p>

Elliot cleared his throat and subconsciously stepped on the gas out of anger. "He likes you," he said. "Therefore, he hates me. Ya know, that JJ…she said something to me when I came out of the pit."

"What?" Olivia asked, holding onto the handle of the door as the car swerved to make a sharp turn.

"She told me…that you went out with him," Elliot said. "Did you?"

"For coffee!" Olivia yelled. "It was three in the morning, El! It wasn't a date!"

Elliot's jaw tightened as he turned the wheel, making another turn. "Hang on," he told her, spinning the car around again and taking a back road. "Sorry."

"I'm used to your driving, baby," she laughed, then she looked at him. "Hotch said something…something you said to him."

"Yeah?" he asked, gripping the wheel tighter. "What?"

She felt herself smile, though she wasn't aware she was happy about it until then. "He said…you told him we were getting married."

Elliot turned the wheel one final time, heading down the street to find Davenport's mother's house. "Eventually," he grumbled. "I want to. Yeah. Why? You don't?"

"El," she said, as the car spun and came to a stop in front of a brick townhouse, "I do." She tilted her head when he snapped his toward her. She saw his eyes light up and he almost let himself smile. "Nothing happened with me and Hotch, nothing will. There's you. Just you."

He leaned over and kissed her hard, deep, but only for a few seconds. "Let's get this asshole and go home."

She nodded and they both got out of the car. She grabbed her gun, keeping it low as she moved, but the hands on her arms made her freeze. "El!"

Elliot turned sharply, aiming, but then lowered his gun. "It's Hotchner, Liv." He jerked his head and said, "Stop trying, man, we gotta get this guy."

"I know, I just…I wanted to apologize. Before we go in there, if anything happens, I…" Hotchner blinked, then let her go. "I'm sorry."

Olivia nodded, then fell into place at Elliot's side. They ran up the steps to the front door, and held back waiting for Rossi's cue to kick in the door.

Hotchner followed, his own gun now ready. He heard the crash of the door breaking in, and he raised his gun, following the unit into the house.

"Clear!" Morgan shouted.

Olivia yelled from the kitchen. "Clear!"

"Clear!" JJ called from a nearby bedroom.

"Guys," Elliot said, a grim look on his face. "I found the mother. She's…" he shook his head.

The group came together and filed into the bathroom, each glancing at the woman on the tiled floor.

"Stab wounds are consistent," Hotchner said. "But blood pooling suggests that…"

"She was alive when he stabbed her," Prentiss finished. "Shit!"

Olivia swallowed hard and leaned into Elliot. "If his car is the one in the driveway, then…"

"Morgan," Elliot snapped, "Can you call Garcia? Ask her to get us the make, model, and tags on this woman's car."

"Who gave you the right to give my team orders?" Hotchner barked.

Rossi stepped in between the men. "He is working this with us, Hotch. And it's a good idea." He looked at Morgan. "Call Garcia, kid."

Morgan walked out of the room, out of the house, as he dialed.

Olivia blinked, then looked from Elliot, to the woman, then finally she looked at Hotchner. "He's got another girl."

**A/N: Next, a stolen moment alone for not one, but two couples, and someone makes a move they're going to regret.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: And I can't breathe without you, but I have to.**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and the characters; TStabler© owns the story you're about to read.**

Hotchner glared at Elliot, his arms folded. "This never would have happened if you weren't too busy yelling at me to notice what she was doing!"

Elliot scoffed and chuckled. "Me? You're the one who suggested, very loudly, I might add, that I go back to...what did you call it? My hovel?"

"Whatever the hell you want to call that pit of an office," Hotchner sneered, swallowing the fact that Elliot's office was just like his. "Or maybe you should have spent more time working on this case than sneaking a quick..."

"Enough!" Rossi boomed. "Hotch, I know that, technically, you're the boss, but I'm pulling rank on this one! Get your mind off of the girl and on the case or there won't _be _a case for you!" He sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe neither of you noticed that the girls...yes, girls...two of them...stormed out of here by themselves. At least we know where they're headed!"

Reid took a shaky breath, his deep worry for two of his dearest friends evident in his every cell. "I'm riding with Rossi," he said. "Elliot, would you..."

"Yeah," Elliot snapped, his eyes still focused on Hotchner, venom in them. "I'm with you."

Hotchner let out a low growl as he watched Elliot walk away with Reid and Rossi.

Morgan strode up behind him, Prentiss to his left. "Come on, Hotch," he said, slapping the senior agent on the shoulder. "Let's go."

"They're all right," Hotchner affirmed, not a question at all, but he sounded as if he were trying to convince himself more than anyone else. He got into the black sedan with a huff, slammed the door, and looked at Morgan with a severe expression. "Drive."

* * *

><p>Reid, in the backseat of the other car, scrolled through his phone as he spoke to the two men in the front. "Garcia sent us the GPS location of the car, she found it through the On Star, and I guess we were so caught up in the arguing that..."<p>

"Olivia and JJ were the only ones that got the message," Elliot finished. "So where are they?"

Reid mumbled as he tried to reload the message on his phone. "Uh, East...Seventy-Third, between Park and Madison."

Rossi glanced at Reid through the rear-view mirror, and he scoffed. "That's the new..."

"RyLink building," Reid affirmed. "Yeah."

Rossi hit the gas, sending Reid back against the seat. "You should be wearing your seatbelt, kid," he chuckled, making a sharp left turn.

* * *

><p>As soon as the car pulled up to the curb in front of the white, brick building, Elliot threw open his door and bounded for the entrance, his gun drawn and his heart pounding.<p>

Hearing footsteps behind her, JJ turned swiftly, her straight blonde ponytail whipping around with her head. "They found us," she sighed. "You were right."

Olivia looked over her shoulder. "I know," she chuckled. She turned fully when Elliot holstered his gun. "I'm fine," she said, holding up a hand to him before he could even open his mouth.

"You could have told me you were..."

"You were busy," she shrugged, then she looked toward Hotchner, who was getting out of his car. "You both were." She turned her attention back to Elliot. "JJ and I got Garcia's message, so we..."

"You're bleeding," he spat, stopping her, pulling at her shirt.

"What?" she questioned, looking down. "No, no, it...it's not mine." She gestured to the side of the building. "It's...his."

Hotchner's eyes widened. "You found him? You found him, and you shot him?"

JJ rolled her eyes. "No," she said. "We found his father. Guess someone didn't want to be protected anymore."

Elliot smoothed his hands over Olivia's arms. "Your shirt is..."

"Evidence, I know," she said with a nod. She jerked her head toward the squad car she'd taken with JJ, and as Rossi, Reid, Prentiss, and Morgan headed toward the body, Hotchner followed her and Elliot.

Hotchner stayed back far enough to go unnoticed, but kept the pair in his sights. His eyes narrowed when Olivia ripped off her vest and unbuttoned her bloody shirt, and they widened when Elliot unbuttoned his. He shook nervously until he saw Elliot hand Olivia his button down and tug his white tank out of his pants before strapping his vest back on.

Olivia slipped Elliot's too-large shirt on, worked the buttons closed, and looked at him. "He could be anywhere, now." She then fastened the velcro on her vest and said, "This sucks."

Elliot sighed, dropping the bloody cotton into a plastic bag and taping it sealed. "I know," he said. "We have leads, though, and that man hasn't been dead long, Liv, so maybe Davenport doesn't have another girl. We know he doesn't have a car now, so how could he..."

She stopped him with a kiss. Only a gentle peck on his lips, but it was enough to shut him up. "I'm sorry," she sighed. "I shouldn't have taken off like that, but I couldn't listen to another second of you and Hotch yelling like that. One of the rules is never go anywhere alone, so JJ..."

"I'm sorry." He interrupted her and shrugged. "I shouldn't have gotten into it with him, it's just...up until now, I didn't have a reason to feel threatened."

She smiled at him, still unaware of Hotchner's observation. "He's not a threat, El." She let out another soft breath and tilted her head. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to breathe when you're not around? Every Sunday night I have to hope and pray I can make it through the week, and the weekends I can't come back here...I suffocate, El. No one can..."

"Hey!" Hotchner yelled, appearing as if he'd just found them, "We should get back to the..."

"Yeah," Elliot gruffed, annoyed. He turned back to Olivia and smiled. "I have a pretty good idea, by the way." He winked at her and moved, side-stepping Hotchner to regroup with Rossi and the others.

Olivia said nothing as she shook her head in disdain at Hotchner, and she, too, made her way toward her unit.

Hotchner grabbed her hand as she passed him, though, and he pulled her toward him fast. Without thinking, without giving her a chance to stop him, he kissed her, pressed himself into her, and let a low moan escape.

Quick and hard, she pushed him away from her. "Are you out of your..."

"Tell me you didn't feel anything," Hotchner cut her off.

Fuming, she backed away from him. "We're at a crime scene!"

"Hypocrite," he huffed. "Just tell me, Olivia. Tell me you felt nothing, and I'll give up."

She closed her eyes, she pressed her lips together, and she took a painful breath. "Give up," she said softly, shaking her head as turned away from him.

"What were you thinking?" Reid asked, moving toward Hotchner as Olivia moved away. "What did you really think was going to happen, Hotch?"

"You tell me, Doctor Reid," Hotchner said, looking down. "You're the expert."

Reid ran a hand through his shaggy hair and gave a glance over his shoulder at the huddled group behind him, no doubt talking about their case and their next move. "I think you're so used to being in control that you're finding it difficult to deal with another Alpha male, especially when he's after the same Alpha female as you." He turned back toward Hotchner and offered a small smile. "See, Alpha females have a tendency to unconsciously make the men around them fall in love with them, they exude power and confidence and sex-appeal which most Alpha males find impossible to resist. They also are fiercely loyal, and are picky when it comes to choosing mates. She was his mate before she ever met you, and obviously she hasn't left his pack in the dust. That pisses you..."

"Enough with the rants and metaphors, Reid," Hotchner hissed. "I'm not a wolf! Just tell me what to do, here."

"The only thing you can do, Hotch," Reid said, slapping his friend and boss on the back. "Get over it."

Hotchner stayed still and quiet as Reid left him to join the team, and finally shaking off his rejection and humiliation, he strode over to focus on the case and the criminal mind they had to hunt.

Rossi held up a hand and stopped Hotchner, though, before he could get close enough to hear what they were saying. "You," he said, walking toward Hotchner. "What did I tell you, huh?"

Hotchner's eyes slid shut. "You saw that?"

"Everyone saw that," Rossi told him. "You're officially out of the field on this, Hotch. You can't think straight, you can't focus, and your judgment is severely impaired. You and JJ are heading back to the station to deal with the media and the local PD. When we find Davenport, we'll let you know."

"Dave," Hotchner spoke, using Rossi's first name, an admission of resignation. "I never meant..."

"I know," Rossi interjected, nodding. "Just go."

Hotchner shoved his hands into his pockets as he stalked toward JJ, who was waiting for him by a black sedan. "Don't look at me like that," he demanded, ripping the keys out of her hand.

She simply laughed and got into the passenger seat, waiting until they were alone at the station to tell him something he really needed to hear.

**A/N: Oh, my! What?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I am barely breathing, I can't find the air...**

**DISCLAIMER: SVU and characters belong to Dick Wolf. This story belongs to TStabler. **

**"**Are you okay?" He spoke over the running water, his lips against her spine.

She nodded as she leaned back into him. "I've seen dead bodies before, El," she mumbled, letting the hot water soothe the ache in her body as he soothed the ache in her heart.

"That's not what I meant," he whispered, trailing his fingers up her sides, along her neck, then winding them in her hair. He twisted, wringing the water and conditioner out of her locks.

"I know," she sighed, turning in his arms. "I was avoiding your actual question." She let her eyes drift up to meet his, and she bit her bottom lip as she said, "You saw it; I didn't..."

He pressed a single finger to her lips. "I know," he told her. He shook his head slightly and bent his head, moving his finger to kiss her.

She moaned, surprised by the force, and backed up into the frosted glass shower doors. "El," she breathed as he suckled at her neck, "God, we shouldn't be..."

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, interrupting her, his palms grazing over her nipples. He slid his knee between her legs, putting just enough pressure on the sensitive flesh to make her eyes roll.

All she could do was shake her head. Another moan escaped her pressed together lips; a sensual hum that reverberated through her entire body.

He smirked as he nudged her thighs farther apart with his knee, positioning himself directly in front of her, against her. "You...need to tell me..." he stopped, choking up, looking down at her with helplessness and desperation in his eyes. "Liv?"

She arched her back, the water now running warm instead of hot as it rained down on them. Her pelvis pressed into his, she moaned, and she said, "I love you. I always have, El." She didn't blink. Not once. "I always will."

Swallowing hard, he clutched the sides of her face and kissed her hard, at the same time thrusting into her with a strength and possessiveness that she'd grown used to.

The moans filtered through the washroom, out the doors, into the hall, hitting the ears of someone who would have much preferred not to hear them. "God damn it," he muttered, storming down the hall. He was in such a state of aggravation, he didn't see the blonde in front of him, slamming into her unapologetically.

"Jeez, Hotch!" JJ cried, rubbing her throbbing arm. "What the hell..."

"Sorry," Hotch said fast. "I'm just...distracted."

JJ grinned, then looked down the hall. "Does this have anything to do with..."

"It doesn't," the lie came quickly and easily. "Listen...you...you never told me why you've been so hung up on Stabler. Is he really that..."

"Hotch," JJ sighed, "Haven't you ever just wanted...one night with someone who wouldn't mean a damn thing to you the next day? No drama, no expectations, just a night of meaningless lust with someone you're attracted to get it out of your system?"

Hotchner stared at her for a moment. "No," he said again. "I...I want a lifetime with someone who means everything to me." He looked over his shoulder. "For a moment, I thought it might have been..."

"She's happy, Hotch," a lower voice butted in.

Hotchner and JJ turned, not surprised to find Reid in the doorway of the computer lab. "How long have you been there?" JJ asked, folding her arms.

"Long enough to realize you're not the person I thought you were," Reid replied, sounding sad. "I know that most people going through a divorce often find themselves looking for a sexual distraction, usually referred to as a rebound, but you...I thought you were different."

Hotchner looked from Reid to JJ, then back again. "I'll just...um...I have to find out if Garcia tracked down our guy." He backed away and turned the corner, leaving the two alone.

"What the hell are you talking about, Spence?" JJ asked, tilting her head.

Reid took a step toward her. "I thought...when you and Will split up...you did it because you finally..." He stopped himself and sighed, his nostrils flaring as they always did before one of his rants. "Ever since Elliot got here, you've been so consumed by him, and Hotch's favoritism concerning Olivia, that you've been determined to sink your claws into someone who's only going to be here for a few more days out of spite and jealousy. Are you really that consumed with superficialities that you'd destroy what I know is a deep and impenetrable relationship because you want one night of meaningless sex?"

JJ, stunned by the tirade. shook her head and widened her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You know that he hasn't even given you a second glance at all, but you haven't been able to take your eyes off of him long enough to notice that someone has been staring just as hard at you." He cleared his throat. "Someone...someone who wants to spend the rest of his life with someone who means everything to him."

"Are you saying..." JJ raised an eyebrow. "Hotch?"

Reid scoffed. "No," he said flatly. "Not Hotch." He took yet another step toward her. "Jenn," he whispered, calling her by her first name for the first time in years, "We've been working together for what seems like a lifetime. You're my best friend. I don't know how...but...I think...I might have...fallen..."

"Oh," JJ breathed, shaking her head. "Oh, my God, Spence," she mumbled, one hand moving over her heart.

Reid moved slowly, but seeing that she wasn't backing away, he advanced, bent his head, only a centimeter away from her lips. His heart hammered in his chest, he lost every thought in his head and feeling in his body. He was almost there.

"Hey!" The interrupted broke them apart fast, making them both jump. Morgan chuckled and walked toward them. "Sorry to break you up, but, uh, we gotta go."

JJ cleared her throat and took a breath. "He have another girl?"

"Not exactly," Morgan said. He heard the creak of the washroom door, and looked up with a smirk. "Well, Romeo and Juliet, you're just in time for the masked ball."

Elliot rolled his eyes and laughed. "Funny," he said, tucking in his shirt. "What have we got?"

"Phone call came in five minutes ago," Morgan said as the group walked toward the squad room. "Garcia recorded and traced it, it's legit. He did grab another girl...but she's a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu, has him knocked out and tied to a banister in a hallway uptown."

"Nice," Elliot chuckled, stealing a glance at Olivia. "I know someone else who'd do that."

JJ snorted, walking a bit faster.

"What's her problem?" Elliot asked, confused.

Reid sighed. "She has a few of 'em right now," he said, running to catch up to JJ.

Morgan turned, then. "Hey, Benson, Hotch wants a word with you before we head out. Prentiss and Rossi are already on the way." He slapped Elliot on the shoulder, leading him toward Garcia's station, and leaving Olivia standing alone in the bull pen.

"Agent Benson," Hotchner said, his voice low, serious. "A moment, please?"

Olivia gave him a warning look.

"Purely professional," he said, holding up both hands.

She sighed as she followed him into his office. "What?" she asked.

"You're good at your job," he said, sitting in his chair. "But I wonder...if this is really what you want. Where you really want to be."

"Excuse me?" she huffed, plopping into a leather chair. "I've been focused on this case since the minute we got here, so...what exactly is this about? "

"You have a choice to make, Olivia," Hotchner told her, his eyes not meeting hers. Both hands were settled on his desk. "You come back with us, stay at the BAU, or you stay here when we leave. But if you come with us...I need to know that your focus is solely on us. Do you know what I'm saying?"

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "You're making me choose...between my job and my relationship?"

"No," he snapped, his eyes finally darting toward hers. "I'm making you choose between life in Virginia and life in New York," Hotchner returned. "You can't have it both ways, Benson."

"I think she can," someone standing in the doorway affirmed.

Olivia saw Hotchner's eyes widen and she hesitated for a beat before turning around. "Dean? What are you doing here?"

Dean Porter, standing right beside Elliot in the office doorway, simply smiled. "Hotchner knows."

**A/N: Dean? Say what?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Breathe in, breathe out, breathe me in, you're still breathing...**

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. TStabler© owns the narrative, dialogue and plot of this story.**

Olivia stood, frozen, her hand clasping Elliot's so tightly her knuckles had whitened.

Elliot didn't even flinch; he simply squeezed back. "It's all right," he whispered, then kissed her temple.

She shook her head and sighed. "Dean showing up is never all right," she mumbled and cleared her throat. "We have work to do, a killer to catch before he..."

"Go," Hotchner barked, cutting her off. "I'll deal with this, you two just...go."

Elliot didn't need to be told twice; he growled out a "Come on" as he pulled on Olivia's hand and guided her out the door, hoping to catch up to the rest of the BAU.

Dean watched them until they were no longer in his sights, then turned sharply to Hotchner. "You didn't tell her?"

Hotchner leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, glaring at Dean as the man sat in a chair in front of the desk, and he shook of the comfortable feeling he was getting, reminding himself this wasn't his office. "I was hoping she..."

"You were hoping she'd fall in love with you while she was here, so offering her a job in New York would be pointless because she'd turn it down," Dean interrupted. He snorted and said, "Really?"

"Something like that," Hotchner said, biting his lip.

Dean leaned over, placing both palms flat on Hotchner's desk. "You see the way they are, the way they look at each other," he said. "You see the way she clings to him, the way he won't let her go, you know if you make her choose..."

Hotchner help up a hand. "She needs to make the choice," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"So you can have the upper hand?" Dean questioned. "So you're not firing her, she's choosing to leave? So you're not the bad guy and if they break up she regrets..."

Hotchner rose to his feet, his nostrils flaring. "Exactly!" he yelled. If she chooses him over her place in a government agency then that..."

"That would mean he means more to her than a job," Dean calmly cut in. "That he is more important to her than money, or status. That's the kind of woman Olivia Benson is." He ran a hand over his head. "She's always cared more about people than her job. Always. That's the reason she does her job to begin with; to stand up for the people who won't stand up for themselves, no matter how unwilling she is to stand up for herself."

"Everyone works for money and power," Hotchner snapped. "She's not special."

Dean laughed bitterly. "You've just proved how little you know about her." He stood, coming almost nose to nose with Hotchner. "You claim to be in love with her, but you know nothing about her."

"And you do?" Hotchner asked, folding his arms.

Dean dropped his eyes. "I've had her, and I've lost her, twice." He shook his head. "Both times it was because of one professional difference or another, but in the end, it was because of him. I finally faced the fact that it would always...be him."

Hotchner swallowed hard. "So you want me to give her a job, with this unit, in New York, so she can have her cake and eat it, too, while the rest of us are miserable?"

"The only one who'll be miserable is you," Dean chided. "Everyone wins this way, Aaron. The unit keeps one of the best agents it's got, she gets to be home with Elliot where you and I both know she wants to be, and you can move on and keep your mind on your job instead of her."

Keeping the urge to throw everything off of his desk in a fit of rage, Hotchner squeezed his eyes shut and balled his fists. "You talk to her," he gritted out. "I don't want to be there."

"You don't want to see me ask her?" Dean smirked.

"No," Hotchner said, opening his eyes. "I don't want to see her say yes."

* * *

><p>Driving faster than he ever had, Elliot got to the apartment building only a few minutes after Morgan, JJ, and Reid. "What'd we miss?" he asked, running up to meet Morgan on the front steps.<p>

Morgan sighed. "Well, we did catch a killer tonight. Just not our guy."

JJ smoothed out her blonde ponytail. "Guy was beaten and handcuffed to the banister after pulling a knife on Teresa Ramos, very interesting form of self defense, but he's not our guy."

"Shit," Olivia hissed. "What now?"

"Garcia's connecting to the GPS on Davenport's cell," Prentiss said, her arms folded. "We finally got the phone company to cooperate."

Morgan's cell phone bleeped and heads turned to watch him answer the text message. He smirked and tapped out a quick reply, licking his lips, then looked up at the people around him. "Um...that one was personal. Sorry."

Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed, then looked at Elliot. "Don't get any ideas."

"Please," Elliot chuckled. "If I was gonna 'sext' you, I would have done it already." He elbowed Olivia playfully as he caught sight of Reid and JJ, looking at each other with an intensity that seemed abnormal. "What's with you two?"

"Nothing," Reid and JJ spoke together. They turned away from each other and folded their arms, clearly tense and avoiding the reason why.

"Spence?" Olivia probed.

"It's fine," Reid said, giving her a look that told her he would talk to her about it all later.

Rossi cleared his throat and jutted a thumb behind him. "Stabler, I got some guys taking the guy down to your station."

"That's fine," Elliot nodded, slapping the older agent on the shoulder. "Thanks," he said to Rossi as all of their phones chirped at once.

One by one, they glanced down, but together they took off toward their vehicles, all rushing to get to the same destination.

* * *

><p>It was close to three in the morning when the group shuffled back into the squad room of the Special Victim's Unit. Morgan flopped onto a rolling chair and closed his eyes, Prentiss and Rossi headed straight for the coffee pot, Reid and JJ took to a quiet corner to talk, and Elliot pulled Olivia toward his office.<p>

Hotchner watched it all happen, quiet and still in the middle of the room. "Is anyone going to tell me what happened?" he asked, loudly, stopping everyone in their tracks.

Bringing the cup of hot java to his lips, Rossi said, "We nailed him."

"Dead or Alive?" Hotchner asked, moving toward Rossi, eager to know.

Elliot spoke then, from his spot in front of his door. "Munch and Fin are escorting him to a holding cell, our ADA is working on an arraignment as we speak, and we've got crime scene..."

"Good," Hotchner interrupted. "We can go back to the hotel, pack up, and be on the plane as soon as..."

"Are you for real?" Morgan said, sitting up. "It's almost three AM, Hotch! Can't we get some sleep and leave in the..."

"No," Hotchner snapped. "You can sleep on the plane. I'd really like to get back to..." Someone clearing his throat behind him stopped his words, and he turned around. "You," he sighed.

"Trying to make a run for it before I could talk to her, huh?" Dean said, grinning. He shook his head and made a bee-line for Olivia. "Can we talk?" He turned his eyes toward Elliot. "The three of us?"

Elliot turned the knob on his office door and pushed it open, nodding. He sent nervous looks at Rossi and Reid, having a feeling he knew what was going to be discussed, and then he glared at Hotchner with a victorious smirk. He waited until Dean and Olivia moved through the door, then followed them into the space, shutting the door behind him. He took a breath as he sat at his desk, folded his hands, and prayed that things would work out.

"Olivia," Dean said, leaning with his elbows on his knees, "What would you say if I told you...you don't have to go back to Quantico?"

**A/N: Her answer? And the Oxygen conclusion! Next!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: No one can find the rewind button now, so cradle your head in your hands, and just breathe. **

**DISCLAIMER: Dick Wolf owns SVU and its characters. TStabler© owns the narrative, dialogue and plot of this story.**

He watched as her hands grabbed every bit of clothing off of the floor. "You're in a hurry to get out of here," he said, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe.

She looked up at him with a small smile, tossing shirts and pants into an open suitcase on the bed. "I have somewhere I need to be," she told him.

"Yeah?" he questioned, then he straightened up and dropped his arms to his sides. He took a few steps toward her. Without warning he looped an arm around her and pulled her flush against him. "I think right now the only place you need to be is right here."

She couldn't help the way the laughter spilled out of her mouth, the way her head dropped back with the chuckle. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes, a deep sigh escaped, and she grinned. Her eyes lit up and she shook her head slightly. "You're wrong," she argued.

He had the good reflexes to catch her as she leaped up onto him, his hands palming her ass as he felt her legs lock at his back. "Here works," he teased, bringing his mouth to hers. His teeth nipped at her lower lip as he walked them toward the bed.

Against his lips she mumbled, "My luggage is..."

And before her sentence could be finished, he dropped her onto the mattress, letting one hand fly to his left to shove the offensive suitcase to the floor. "Oops," he shrugged, a smirk playing at his lips as he bent forward to kiss her again.

She laughed into his mouth, her hands wound around his neck. She said something that was swallowed by their kiss.

He murmured back to her, his tongue sweeping over hers, his teeth grazing her lips. "What?" he asked, an afterthought.

She scoffed, but raked her nails over his scalp instead of repeating herself. She arched her back when his hands pulled her shirt up, helping him get it off of her, and as she flattened out, she tilted her head again. "I need to ask you something," she whispered.

He knelt up and pulled his own tee shirt over his head, and when he tossed it away he nodded. "Anything," he said. "The answer's yes."

She dragged her nails up his bare chest, scraping back down lightly, making intricate paisley patterns in his flesh. She smirked when he moaned, proud of herself, and bit her lip as his eyes rolled back. "Do you want me to stay?"

His eyes shot open, he stilled, and he blinked rapidly. "Did you...why would...fuck, yes, I want you to stay! What the hell do you think this is?" he spat, waving an arm in demonstration, yet pointing to nothing.

"I'm asking..." she closed her eyes, took a breath, and said, "I don't have a place to..."

He silences her with another kiss, his fingers toyed with the buttons on her pants, and he worked his hand beneath the cotton as he said, "You don't have to ask. Baby, of course." He looked down at her, pressed his forehead against hers, and he whispered, "Stay with me."

She gasped when his fingers slipped beneath the silk panties she wore, her body bucked up into his. Her lips found his again and her groan was caught in his throat.

He teased her for a moment longer, then slid both hands over her hips, easing the black slacks down her body. He bit lightly at her chin and neck, laughing a bit when she raised her knees to kick off her pants. "Easy, girl," he joked.

She shook her head and gripped his neck, then pulled him down hard, kissing him with force and a loud moan of his name. She tugged at his jeans with her other hand.

He kept kissing her, muffling his grunts as he struggled to get out of the denim. Once freed, he held his breath and brought his hands to her face. He pulled away from her, worked his way between her legs, and stared into her eyes as he pushed slowly.

Her eyes widened, but she was holding her breath, too, afraid even that would ruin the moment. She felt his body meet hers, skin to skin, and finally let herself breathe.

He took a shallow breath, then, as well, then cupped her as he kissed her and slowly began to move.

* * *

><p>Just beyond the wall, someone else was packing his bags to the music of their moans, but he wasn't looking forward to heading home, to anything that waited there. He tried to drown out the thunking of the bed against the wall, the cried out names, by turning on the television.<p>

"Shit," he cursed, watching the reporter give out the details of their recently closed case. He sat on the edge of the bed, dropped his head into his hands, and tried to breathe. He felt suffocated, choked, and that's when it hit him. He turned to look over his shoulder, as if trying to stare beyond the wall. "You really couldn't breathe without him," he said to himself.

The knock on the door jarred him from his thoughts, and he rubbed his hands over his face as he rose to answer it. "What happened?" he asked, staring at the young agent before him.

"Nothing," Prentiss said, stepping into Hotchner's room without an invitation. "I just wanted to see how you were holding up."

"I'm fine," he said coolly, closing the door. "Should I not be?"

Prentiss shrugged. "If the person I loved was walking out of my life forever, I'd be bummed out." She sat on the spot on the mattress he had risen from, and she squinted. "Wow," she hissed. "They're like...that sounds...they are really..."

"I know," Hotchner interrupted, continuing to grab and fold his clothes. "She loves him, she has a job here, why shouldn't she stay?"

"This from the man who punched a hole in the hallway at the police station after finding out she was staying," Prentiss laughed. "What changed?"

Hotchner tossed the shirts into his suitcase. "Morgan and Garcia," he said. He sighed and zipped up the black bag. "Now...Reid and JJ..." he shrugged. "Benson and Stabler," he said, "They make sense. They all make perfect sense."

"Reid and JJ?" Prentiss questioned. "What the hell did I miss?"

Hotchner smiled. "I caught them kissing in the lobby. I think Reid finally told her how he felt."

Prentiss turned up her bottom lip and nodded. "Nice," she said. "You know, Hotch, she isn't the first woman to walk in and out of your life, and she won't be the last, but you have to decide...what impression you want her to leave."

"What?" Hotchner narrowed his eyes at her, the thumping growing louder and harder to ignore.

Prentiss stood, and she walked toward him. "Everyone leaves an impression," she said. "You can either let your memory of her be the smart, funny, hot chick you fell in love with...or the cold-hearted, distant workaholic that broke your heart." She picked a piece of lint off of his shirt. "Either way, she's gonna stay with you forever, and it will affect everything you do, every word you say, and every breath you take for the rest of your life." She looked into his eyes. "How do you want to breathe, Hotch?"

He closed his eyes and the words came tumbling out before he knew it. "I fell in love with her," he said, "Because she was the first person since Hailey that made me laugh without trying, that made me think without question, that made me..."

"Harder than a baseball bat?" Prentiss offered. She saw his eyes snap open and she shrugged. "You were getting a little too serious, and you can't deny the woman is hot."

Hotchner smiled and said. "She is. Very." He stepped around Prentiss and grabbed his suitcase, carrying it from the bed to in front of the door. "But I also realized...I loved her...because I knew she..."

"You knew about him, didn't you?" Prentiss asked, folding her arms. "You fell...you fell in love with her because you knew there was no way it would..."

"The women I love have a habit of getting killed," Hotchner said, staring at the white wooden door in front of him. "Not this time."

Prentiss stepped up behind him and let out a small scoff. "JJ picked this case, you agreed to it because it would bring us here, you practically handed her to him. Why?"

Hotchner turned, and for the first time since she walked in, he gave her a real smile. "She's safer here, with him. Happier. She can do her job and she can be with the man who will stop at nothing to keep her out of harm's way. Who won't let her out of his sight. I..."

"What happened to Hailey wasn't your fault," Prentiss intruded. "And that bastard is dead, Hotch."

He turned and grabbed the handle of his suitcase and rested his hand on the doorknob. "He would have gotten there in time," he said. "I won't take the chance of it..." he stopped, choking on his words.

"Okay," Prentiss said, nodding. "But what about you, Hotch? You can't just sail alone while everyone goes off in pairs to the four corners of the world without you." She reached for his shoulder, gripped it, and said, "You matter, too, ya know. Don't forget to save yourself when you're trying to save the world."

He blinked as he looked down at her hand on his shoulder, and as he rolled his neck to look at her again, he did something he couldn't remember doing in a long time. He relaxed.

* * *

><p>Elliot felt his entire body sink into the bed as he exhaled. His hands curled in her hair as her head rested on his chest, he felt his heart pounding and knew she could hear it. "Jesus..."<p>

"Christ," she breathed, trying to catch her breath. "That was..."

"That was some really fucking good 'welcome home' sex, right there," he chuckled, then he kissed the crown of her head, pressing his lips to her damp hair.

She closed her eyes and laughed, her arms draped over him, her legs entwined with his. "This is gonna sound really stupid, but..."

"I can breathe," he told her.

She froze. "How did you..."

"Every day, since you've been here, I have felt this...like someone was crushing my lungs." He interrupted her again but he didn't care. He twisted her hair around his fingers, playing with her locks. "Whenever we got a call, and I thought the case was closing, my heart...Liv, I felt like I was dying," he admitted. "The thought of you leaving...of having to go back to only having you on the weekends, going days without hearing your voice, seeing your face..."

"I know," she broke in, taking her turn at interruption. "I felt the same way. But now...knowing I'm waking up with you...and I don't have to leave..." Her words fell away as she tilted her head back, angling to look at him. "It's a huge weight off my shoulders. Everything feel's so much lighter."

He nodded as he kissed her, and he closed his eyes. "Tomorrow," he said, "We'll check outta here, get you settled at my place, and maybe Friday we'll take a trip down to get your stuff."

"Friday?" she asked, confused. "El, it's only Tuesday. What am I supposed to do until..."

"You," he said, pressing a finger to her lips, "Will not be needing any clothes, at all. Not until Friday."

She smirked at him and turned over, laying on top of him, rubbing against him. "And what happens Friday?"

He grinned. "Life, baby," he said. "You and me, your new job, the kids come home, and we get the life we wanted...before we knew we wanted it." He kissed her and nuzzled her a bit, then wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I love you." She said it so easily, so clearly. And as she settled against him, she felt the space in her lungs widen, and she inhaled deeply. She breathed him in, taking in the scent of his body along with the oxygen she'd needed so desperately, that she was deprived of without him.

_Emily Brunner once said, "What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life." What she meant was this : everyone has someone that gives hope, that gives meaning to their life, and without them, we simply can't breathe._

**A/N: So my first attempt at a non-exclusive SVU fic. Hope it was a good ride. **


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